Breaking the Cycle
by Kylandor
Summary: Haruhi is recruiting new members and puts the potential brigade members through a series of tests to determine who gets in, meanwhile Kyon has an otherwise unfriendly encounter with Suyoh and a familiar face, but something seems out of order and why is it that Mikuru is so terrified of one of the Freshmen Recruits? Rated T for violence and mild romance
1. Foreword

Chapter 0 : Foreword - Hello readers, I'm Kylandor. but you know that because I'm the one writing this fanfic :)

I have not abandoned fanfiction writing, I merely have been doing research (Reading Manga, taking vacations, thinking of "what if" scenarios) to break the writers block and at the same time satisfy your unquenchable thirst for more chapters. I decided to put in a foreword for this first chapter of a new series mainly to awnser any questions you might ask after reading this.

This takes place during the events of The Surprise of Suzumiya Haruhi arc and will focus on relating points and then branching off in an Alt. Universe. I will explain some things in an afterword if I think it's not obvious "such as who made what quote or any reference I feel has the need to be explained".

I would appreciate constructive criticism in reviews or PMs (preferably reviews, I check them irregularly though often). I was thinking of this foreword being in my profile but I will assume most readers are browsing through the crossovers list letter by letter like I am looking for either a specific crossover line or something that catches their eye (like a crossover that has never before been done on , considering that as far as I know there has yet to be a Suzumiya Haruhi/Metal Gear Solid crossover prior to my "The Gods" Saga of stories.

Outright insults or unconstructive criticism which is standard for most of my experiences and also the M.O. of trolls & haters will be widely ignored and, if I figure out how on fanfiction net, removed.

This fanfic will start during the Surprise of Suzumiya Haruhi act or more generally. The events that are portrayed in Book 18 of the currently ongoing Suzumiya Haruhi manga (this is also the most recent book I possess though I know of future events thanks to wikipedia and can work my way to them, though wikipedia doesnt give too many spoilers (Which normally would be a good thing, but you'd be asking for spoilers if your looking into it on wikipedia, so normalcy doesn't apply here)

Last but not least a disclaimer and extended summary (dont worry I'll have posted the actual first chapter storywise seconds after I post this).

Disclaimer : I do not own The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. It is owned by the respective holders. I do however have rights to certain Original Characters I use in my fanfictions (Particularily Ray Zenji). This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are objects of imagination and are used in fictionous settings and situations. Any resemblance to real life events and people both living & deceased are coincidental (Unless Haruhi rewrote the universe to what it is now).

Summary - It's the SOS-dan's 2nd school year and there are several unlucky freshmen seeking to join the SOS-dan out of curisosity. Nagato is dealing with more flu-like symptoms as a result of the Canopy Dominion's interference regarding the Brigade. Kyon intends to try and help Nagato through negotiation with Sasaki and her friends though something else is starting to bother him slightly. Why is it out of all the freshmen intending to join the SOS-dan is there only one person, an American studying abroad is the only one who seems to be able to keep up with Haruhi...yet alone seemingly enjoying every second of it...and why Mikuru seems uneasy with his presence more so than she has ever been around Nagato.

Afterword

The term -dan applied after SOS, (SOS-dan) basically means Brigade, whenever SOS-dan is present, it means SOS Brigade.


	2. I

Chapter I : Intervention & Initiation

Kyon is motionless, Suyoh is in front of him and apparently Asakura Ryoko behind him, with a knife to his throat.

"You're hurting my feelings, but if that's how you feel about it." are the words Ryoko speaks just before she launches her knife towards Suyoh at a velocity that appears to be instant, to which Suyoh effortlessly grabs, it's as if a view from a manga or comic panel, one scene becomes another with no passage of time recordable by unaugmented conventional human senses.

Kyon is unable to keep up with how fast the scuffle passes by and Kimidori's appearance only makes the situation more unfathomable, combined with Asakura's lack of regard for life and Suyoh's otherwise incomprehensible speech and actions. Ryoko again throws her knife at high velocity towards Suyoh. Just then Suyoh does something which causes Kyon to feel as if someone just flipped a switch. "I get the odd feeling that, This wasn't supposed to happen." are the words going through Kyon's mind.

Suyoh grabs the knife again only to speak a verbal command that sounds like gibberish which causes the knife to shatter into what appears to be fragments of glass which fade away and before long, Kimidori and Suyoh simply vanish and as if Ragnarök began, the tattered landscape Ryoko assumed Data Control over becomes even more damaged as materials are crushed into dust and apparent random explosions of various size in various locations occur almost simultaneously. Only five seconds pass as Suyoh and Kimidori re-appear in the spots they were when they vanished, around them an utterly destroyed landscape that could not even remotely be considered terrestrial in appearance, looking more akin to a lifeless, near-featureless desert of rubble and craters which would seem to be from some bizarre alien world.

As Asakura forms a new knife nearly instantly and throws it towards Suyoh again, she is followed by Kimidori who apparently summons a torrent of blue energy spikes which barrage Suyoh only to be blocked by some energy barrier.

"New Entity...Unidentified, assessing threat level." are the words that escape Suyoh's mouth and as if they were a cue for a scene in a play, a new figure dressed in otherwise flashy white robes with red accents appears, his face covered by a white bandage exposing only his Bloodshot Crimson Red Eyes which stare directly at Kimidori whilst grabbing Asakura's thrown knife without looking towards it before proceeding to toss it back at Asakura in what appears to be him simply returning her Knife to her. She merely grabs it by the handle, not breaking her sadistic smile. What seems more out-of-place however is the fact there is an eerie silence from everyone.

"Who...are you?" are the words that Kyon manages to say after ten seconds to which the figure replies with a male voice "Just think of me as someone who saved you a lot of trouble regarding this incident.". Suyoh then says "Threat Level Maximum. withdrawal only option." before, to Kyon's perception, turns flat and disappears as if she were a door closing and becoming invisible.

The man seems to spiral clockwise as if being sucked into a black hole before disappearing, to which Asakura remarks "Suyoh doesn't request authorization to manipulate data, she's a different kind of terminal than us and that man was unquestionably human and yet somehow infiltrated my data jurisdiction and was able to manipulate the enviroment around him."

Kimidori replies "She does not seem to have been created to communicate with humans and the methods used by the human seem to be aimed at manipulating his own data rather than the surrounding data as the barrier he formed extended from his right index finger and matching the knife's velocity by augmenting his physical form to be able to react and act at faster-than-light velocities."

Kyon couldn't grasp even remotely the possibility that man was human and was even more baffled at Kimidori's words, it would make more sense to him if he were another data life form, but to be called human and still have those abilities eluded his common sense.

After a somewhat hostile and short conversation between Asakura Ryoko and Kimidori and then Ryoko and Kyon leaves with her departing with Kyon's back facing her.

Later that day

Kyon and Koizumi seem to be waiting in a hallway and having a mild conversation after Kyon explained what happened with Suyoh, Asakura, Kimidori and the unknown man. The conversation otherwise focused on the fact that Koizumi is worried that the lack of Celestials appearing may be an omen for something much larger and worse to happen. Just before he decides to depart however Kyon asks him a question. "Hey Koizumi. Has there ever been a case where one of the Agency or Tachibana Kyoko's organization ever used their powers in otherwise normal situations?".

Koizumi replies with a serious face "No, not in a normal situation. However.." Koizumi pauses for a second before continuing, saying " There were however reports of an unknown individual outside both of our organizations being able to do so and it they were sure he wasn't a TFEI though they have been unconfirmed and most believe the situation was misunderstood. Are you sure Kimidori said he was human?"

Kyon nodded silently to which Koizumi then responded with a question. "Was...he wearing white robes and had his face covered?". Something clicked in Kyon's head as he replied "Yes that...that's exactly what he looked like, I guess from his height he'd have to be no older than 13 though his voice sounded a little older maybe." Kyon pondered a moment, Koizumi's description was too accurate to be a mere coincidence, if such a person had been both outside of either organization and also having eluded the Agency's ability to identify him then could he perhaps be some time traveler from a future so distant Man had evolved into something else or perhaps he was a slider from a parallel universe where humans were able to do all the supernatural abilities that the data-aliens were able to do. This going through his head rather fast he was able to resume his response, saying "Have you ever seen someone like that? Could he possibly be a time traveler from some future where humans have such powers?".

Koizumi shook his head slightly and replied "I've seen a man in that description once before but if he's a time traveler from such a future then it would have to be unmistakably far further than where the elder Asahina is from. As far as the reports go, including my own experience, he hasn't directly opposed or supported the Agency, though he has acted antagonistic towards Tachibana Kyoko's organization."

Before they are able to continue the conversation further Haruhi walks down the hallway, completely oblivious to what's going on and merely says "Oh there you are, I've been looking all over for you, We're going to check on the clubroom and check on the potential recruits, after that we're heading straight to Yuki's place, She missed school again and I'm getting worried."

Kyon was still unused to the idea that Haruhi could actually care about someone else but was also glad to know that he wasn't the only one who saw Yuki as a person, even if Haruhi wasn't aware of her real nature."

Moments Later... l SOS-dan Clubroom

There were some freshmen left, three boys and two girls, but something caught Kyon's eye right away, he was even more surprised he hadn't noticed it beforehand.

Asahina-san seemed to be trying very hard to hide utter terror at the sight of one of the freshmen who seemed the most devoted to joining the SOS-dan.

Raymond Zenji, a foreign exchange student from the United States...

To be continued...

Afterword

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know I should have put a little more detail into what happened during the fight between Asakura Ryoko, Kimidori and Suyoh though it's supposed to be in line with what happens canonically up until she grabs the second knife throw instead of teleporting and dashing towards Kyon and also the events that take place between timeskips are supposed to happen. As for the other girl, she was the one absent this time whilst Ray having replaced one of the random freshmen in the story and had a large amount of patience and tenacity.

-san is an honorific that is similar to the term Miss though it can mean an older or younger aim (Like Young Lady or the usual term for Miss which relates to someone of equal or greater age compared to you, I use the term "The Elder" for the older Mikuru because the honorific only changes in terms of how it's said, I dunno if using it as -San apart from -san would actually be the right way and even so would likely still confuse readers, particularly those who don't know about honorifics. Added that the publication that I read does the same thing so it's practical in terms of understanding as well.

I intend to alternate between Kyon's normal narrative thoughts and third person POV with a third person POV with Ray Zenji (my original character) back and forth

For visual references, when Ray swirled out of sight it was exactly the same as when (Spoiler for Naruto)

Uchiha Obito from Naruto uses his Kamui to teleport. Also Ray's red eyes are not in any way similar or related to the Sharingan.

Till next time...


	3. II

Foreword: Ray Zenji sometimes is difficult to follow because of accent or speech mannerisms and belates a point occasionally, so sometimes a mis-spelling or lack of proper grammar is intentional. The point of view will shift occasionally between Kyon and Ray and perhaps some others.

Chapter II : Hidden Actions

* * *

><p>"Defeated Warriors go to war and then seek to win whilst victorious warriors seek to win and then go to war." - Sun Tzu<p>

* * *

><p>Outskirts of Nishinomiya, 11:18 pm, Saturday<p>

* * *

><p>The climate in Japan is something Ray isn't used to compared to his last place of residence, he almost feels homesick for sunny and breezy coastlines in the West Coast. But he was here to do three things. He had accomplished one, he had merged two conflicting timelines without anyone taking notice, even the Non-Biologicals.<p>

But he still had two tasks to accomplish and they would be made known to everyone else when he saw fit and not a second sooner, as far as Ray was concerned, he could make his own choices, if what he does is recorded in history by time travelers, predicted by aliens or written like a fairy tale by one of the two Shinjin he could care less, he didn't give a damn about what they expected him to do. Right now he had one goal and one goal in mind for the night.

Send Tachibana Kyoko a message..

At the moment he was walking aimlessly down the sidewalk, or so it seemed. In reality he was stalking one of Kyoko's informants who provided the information necessary to kidnap Mikuru during an incident he kept in his memory, he had not been in North High at the time but he had known it occurred, and he knew of a few other things that might or might not happen.

As he continued to walk seemingly into random streets he spotted his target, sitting on a park bench reading a book.

Ray had learned a few things from his home timeline, things that should never be known to someone of his age, but regardless he knew them, and knows making this decision is final.

No Going Back.

No time to regret his actions.

No chance of redemption.

There was only a moment before his dark brown eyes turned violet and to his eyes, the man on the bench was glowing a golden hue in a backdrop of a blue haze which seemed to be everything else, some animals though they shone a radiant and brighter blue compared to the almost closed space like look to the rest of the world to Ray's strange power to see the unseen.

A flick of his wrist and a small blade made itself known, but still hidden under cover of darkness and being made of a black hued metal which made it impossible to see at this time of night as he drew closer to his oblivious target.

Mere seconds passed as he passed his target only to turn around rapidly and impale him in the chest first with his blade, the man not knowing why or how as he quickly stopped breathing, his heart pierced by the cold metal edge. Ray quickly grabbed the body and it swirled into his eye as if sucked into a black hole, leaving only a bloodstain on Ray's blade.

* * *

><p>The next night, Sunday, 9:35 pm<p>

* * *

><p>The Weekends were almost over, Ray continued to think as he approached his next target from behind who seemed to be more aware of his surroundings than the previous one.<p>

One could seem like an incident from Koizumi's faction or the work of some twisted plot from the future, but no.

Ray wanted to make sure Tachibana-san knew who had done this and it had to be this way.

Ray however noticed his target changed directions, heading into an alleyway as he switched his vision once more unto the blue haze that determined who was to live and who was to die.

Ray proceeded to climb the staircase on the other side before appearing on the rooftop after a climb, the man below him, waiting for something to happen whilst unaware of Ray being in the one place few look.

Up...

Ray quietly steps off the roof and lands on the man from above, two blades, one for each wrist, into the man's lungs from above, held as knives this time.

Ray again transports the man to an undisclosed location as he did before, leaving only a stain on his blades which is easy enough to remove without leaving evidence for city authorities who would be unable to report the incident anyway.

Koizumi liked Haruhi to think she lived in an uneventful place and was doing a good job at that so far.

Yes the city was a black spot on the map, nothing comes in, nothing goes out. But some things cannot be controlled such as Ray's capabilities or his tactics, these two were not the first, nor shall they be the last.

* * *

><p>Monday, SOS-dan Clubroom<p>

* * *

><p>Ray understood the day-to-day frustration Kyon has been feeling up to now, being forced to do otherwise mundane tasks. This will not deter him and he has done such a good job at hiding his true intentions that Koizumi didn't feel any abnormal "vibes" which usually happen when something unplanned occurs.<p>

Cleaning was easy enough however and because the timelines were merged, Ray also had been helping Haruhi and the brigade care for Nagato who in this timeline was both sick and at the same time Kyon was dealing with the SOS Brigade Entrance situation, in which is why Ray is even there, the only deviation being Nagato's lack of presence because of her ailments.

* * *

><p>01201201020120<p>

* * *

><p>Kyon was getting impatient with the way things were going, he is going to have to act somehow, find some way of getting Nagato out of the line of fire from Suyoh who seems to be responsible for her "sickness". But he can't help but continue to be uneasy around Ray Zenji who seems the most out of place. Not because he's used to the usual makeup of the SOS-dan but something different, like if he's not who he claims he is. Which would make more sense than if he were a normal person considering the type of people (particularly the dangerous ones) that congregate around Haruhi.<p>

Still it was nice to have less "chores" (more like slave-work) on his back.

Mikuru's reaction to Ray's presence however is what keeps Kyon from being distracted however as She is more uneasy around him than she has ever been around Nagato (which come to think of it, the Elder Mikuru has expressed some kind of combination of fear and awe whenever Nagato has displayed her capabilities.)

* * *

><p>Same day, Kyon's House, 8:15 pm<p>

* * *

><p>Having nothing else to do other than lie on the bed staring at the ceiling Kyon feels the urge to give in to sleep when his sister barges into the room holding the phone saying "It's for you..." with a rather singsong tone.<p>

Kyon sighs and puts the phone to his ear to hear the voice on the other side say "Kyon, I wanted to talk about what's going on." No doubt about it, it was Sasaki on the other end and she seemed rather uneasy in her speech which puts off Kyon's otherwise flawless sense of danger, she's never spoken in this manner before as long as he can remember.

Before he says anything he waves his hand in a shoo-shoo motion towards his sister who then leaves promptly afterwards.

"Did something happen?" are the words that come from Kyon, Sasaki however pauses before saying "Tachibana-san called me rather abruptly, she seemed concerned and asked if I was alright. I was fine but it unnerved me and I feel like something bad has happened, she seemed more serious than usual in her tone and after I assured her I was fine she practically begged me not to go out at night."

Sweat slowly began to roll down Kyon's face as the final words were said. "Begged her not to go out at night?". Knowing the dangers that usually rise out of cryptic warnings such as that Kyon could only suspect something horrible happened, but shouldn't it be over the news if it was something shocking like a killer or otherwise?

Furthermore Nagato was in no condition to do anything and the thought of trusting his life to Asakura Ryoko send a chill through Kyon's spine. Mustering the resolve to say something he spoke the words "Could it be related with what's going on with Nagato-san?"

Sasaki replied "I hope not, if it were then the most logical answer would be that the Data Overmind Aliens retaliated."

This was the worst case scenario Kyon could think of now, The Data Overmind, the Canopy Dominion, they treated the Earth like their playground and a conversation came up to mind. "Edge of the Galaxy...That is here."

Could he have unwittingly started a war between the two alien factions and suggested Earth as their battleground? Sasaki continued to speak, saying "Well if it were something on that scale I think Tachibana would have told me outright, it's probably not that severe."

Kyon replied "What about the Sneering Bastard, did he mention anything or act differently?". Sasaki replied "I don't know, he hasn't called me and Tachibana-san didn't bring him up, we'll know about it tomorrow, we're supposed to meet that day anyway. Hopefully we'll get answers then.".

Kyon sighed and said "So all we can do is wait for the night to pass and hope their going to explain it to us.". Sasaki replied " It seems that way, I'll see you tomorrow then." Kyon replies "Alright, bye." and with that he hangs up, which seems rare as usually Sasaki ends the call first.

Was she honestly concerned for Kyon's Life?

Such a thought went through his head as he scratched said head before placing the phone on his desk and laid down to sleep.

* * *

><p>Same Night, 10:30 pm, Train Station<p>

* * *

><p>Ray stood waiting for his contact, dressed in a black trenchcoat and under it wearing a simple black T-Shirt. The only thing out of uniform with the rest of his attire where woodland camouflage pants and a pair of thin-framed transitions glasses which he fixed back into proper place with his index finger.<p>

Not long of a wait since arriving at the station a tall man of African descent walked up to him, wearing a brown trenchcoat and brown slacks as he lit a cigarette and said "This is not exactly the best of alliances.".

Ray replied sharply "Can it Samir, I'm crossing the line enough as it is not dealing with you here and now, we have different goals in the end but we each have something the other needs and we don't have to fight for it."

The man known as Samir Duran puts out his cigarette and places it in a nearby ashcan before saying "I know you're hiding something from me but it does not matter, I have patience, longer than you could possibly imagine." Ray sighs and replies "I know how long you've called yourself alive and regardless my proposal is a simple trade. You want psionic energy and I want Suyoh on a leash.".

Duran is silent for a second before replying "What makes you think I have a say in what the Canopy Dominion does at this time."

Ray chuckles and responds with "You have the resources to antagonize them away from the Earth and thus deprive Suyoh of any possible reinforcements, we both know they operate on data only by a Cloud Computing method and if you take down their physical servers across the Koprulu Sector's Terrestial Planets they will devote more resources from the events here to repairing and attempting to retaliate against your Tal'Darim pawns."

Duran raises an eyebrow, impressed at Ray's information regarding other regions of space and says "And how would you be aware of the Protoss?"

Ray chuckles and replies "That is for me to know and you to ponder about for the next 500 years or so." Duran knows Ray can contribute significantly to the resurrection of Amon but even then that is only half a millennia of progress to be bypassed, but the sooner the day of reckoning comes the better, Duran nods his head and says "Very well, I will agree to these terms, you will receive evidence of a Tal'Darim assault on the Canopy Dominion's assets in the Koprulu Sector within one of your weeks."

With those words Duran disappears seemingly into thin air, Ray proceeds down the sidewalk with a grin on his face, saying "Even with these distractions Suyoh will still be able to make a meaningful threat against Haruhi's life and like in his timeline...act upon it.

"I will do everything in my newfound power to prevent that from happening again, no matter the bodycount..."

* * *

><p>To be continued<p>

* * *

><p>Afterword:I originally intended to bridge this with the Starcraft Universe in the first chapter but decided it would be too difficult without degrading the quality of the fanfic, but there it is, Duran is now involved in the story (For those that haven't played the first two Starcraft Games, he's the previous alias Narud used)<p>

Regarding the mock-binary I placed into one of the separators, I might use it more often to dictate an in-chapter switch of the Point-of-View between Kyon, Ray and others.

To avoid any confusion...

When I placed the sentence "Was she honesty concerned for Kyon's Life?" I didn't mean Sasaki has no regard for Human Life, I meant that Kyon was starting to grasp the true seriousness of Sasaki's call. That she was calling not just to talk about the upcoming meeting with her "friends" but also was calling to make sure Kyon wasn't in danger, in effect her call mirrors the one she mentioned was made by Tachibana Kyoko (in this chapter).

Obviously Kyoko wasn't calling because TFEIs started duking it out with eachother on the streets but because two of her informants, on two subsequent nights were killed Assassin's Creed style by Ray with only enough evidence pointing to him and evidence that couldn't be shared with authorities without compromising their own status (Kidnapping obviously being a crime and they'd be cutting their own head off in the process, so instead they might opt to deal with it on their own)

The above was not a spoiler but an explanation and third party analysis of the situation (If you haven't read the manga or light novels then you probably wouldn't be able to follow half the plotline in this story as it follows an arc the anime never got to.)

If any of you have questions of what else I'm crossing over in this story, your going to have to wait until it actually happens or I'd be giving you a spoiler, though if the hidden blade scenes haven't said enough I'll say it here. Assassin's Creed will be involved loosely (Oh the Templars would LOVE to get their hands on Haruhi's power.)

* * *

><p>Till next time... - Kylandor<p> 


	4. III

"The Zerg were changed by the Xel'Naga, the Protoss Enlightened by them. But the Xel'Naga did not create man... That was the work of EDEN"

* * *

><p>Chapter III : Closing the loop<p>

* * *

><p>Tsuruya Estate, The Same Night<p>

* * *

><p>10101020210<p>

* * *

><p>"I never get tired of these." Ray says as he straps on his hidden blades and wraps a white bandage around his face. Flicking his hand once to test the functionality<br>of his blades before taking a leap of faith from a tree into a well, extending one of his blades, a hookblade, to latch onto the stone which is easily cut and secured by his blade which he then uses to climb out of the well, making little sound.

Easily making his way inside past otherwise unsuspecting security in the otherwise flashy White and Red hooded robes used in the past by an otherwise unknown to history Florentine man. Ray finds his way to Tsuruya's room easy enough and focuses energy to his eyes which turn from dark brown to crimson red, his vision changes, displaying a kind of Heads-Up-Display to his eyesight alone, on the upper left portion of the HUD is displayed in English "Nano-Tech Status:Active".

Walking through the door as if it were an illusion, he relaxes to see Tsuruya simply asleep as he carefully searches the room for something specific, something out of place in a teenager's room.

* * *

><p>And he finds it...a small metal block which breaks his cover as it glows in his presence, just as Tsuruya gets up, Ray pulls out a golden orb, sending a bright, slightly transparent golden line to her head, controlling her, making her go back to sleep without incident.<p>

"This is definitely a Piece of Eden." are the words going in Ray's mind as he slides in the artifact into a hold that fits it perfectly in his left gauntlet, which quietly glows golden for a moment before returning to it's normal silver appearance...

* * *

><p>Only a minute later<p>

* * *

><p>Guards spot Ray, someone must have tipped them off, he made no mistakes, they put him at gunpoint.<p>

Ray ignores the threat of a firearm, brushing it off as he sends a pulse from the sphere in his right hand, knocking the guard unconscious immediately and to his dismay, several more take his place only to be dropped again by the apple of eden, asleep like infants, unharmed physically.

Ray continues down the Estate until he gets outside, surrounded by guards who this time, do not hesitate to open fire, sending a hailstorm of rounds at Ray only for them to impact some kind of white hexagonal barrier a few inches from Ray's actual body. Ray uses the apple one more time, sending the small private army into a deep sleep.

Ray then proceeds towards a car which he jabs his left hidden blade into the steering wheel, causing the car to start up as something flashes on his HUD. "Nanite Hacking Successful."

* * *

><p>10110100120<p>

* * *

><p>The Next Day, Train Station<p>

* * *

><p>Kyon meets up with Sasaki, who seems back to her normal attitude, Tachibana and Fujiwara by her side, though Suyou is not in sight.<p>

What seems to be deja vu hits him as the conversation passes by, more so with a chatty cab driver as they ride towards North High, Kyon wonders if Kyoko has considerably less resources than Koizumi and assumes she had to pay out of her pocket for the taxi.

* * *

><p>North High, Closed Space<p>

* * *

><p>If the sneering bastard ever gave Kyon a reason to hate him before, he's gone to a new level now. The words he said make it obvious that he and his cohorts view Sasaki as nothing less than a tool to be used, not a person.<p>

As Kyon walks along with them to the SOS-dan's clubroom Kyoko suddenly says "There's someone behind this door.". Fujiwara brushes her worries off by saying it's probably Suyou.

But he couldn't be more wrong, as standing before them is Ray Zenji, in his white and red robes, hood down, eyes red and no bandage hiding his facial features, Fujiwara freaks out completely and shouts "No, not you! You're supposed to be dead, how the hell are you even here?".

Ray sighs and replies "I am both alive and dead, I'm not surprised you did not notice but I am surprised slightly that your allies who back Suyou did not notice, that I merged the various timelines into one.."

Before Fujiwara could react, the door behind them opens, revealing Koizumi Itsuki and the elder Asahina Mikuru of which the sight of the latter sends Fujiwara into an even more unstable mental state as Ray says "I'm surprised you managed to get here.".

Koizumi's otherwise half-smile drops completely as he says "Do not underestimate us, with Nagato-san's help we were able to borrow Haruhi's power to enter this place, it was a mistake for you to interfere with her.". Ray grins and says "I did nothing other than nudge someone to make sure Suyou's comrades focused their attention elsewhere, though they have been too trusting as of late, I have no intention to honor my side of the agreement with them."

The elder Mikuru did not have fear towards Ray but rather it seemed, hatred...

* * *

><p>101201211<p>

* * *

><p>Ray has them eating out his hand like a pet dog, it was time to tell them what he intends. But before he could mutter out another word, Mikuru says "You shouldn't be using the TPDD for things like this Ray, nor should Hakeda be using it for his ends as well. Both of you know full well what could happen if you don't close up the holes behind you.". Ray chuckles a bit and laughs "I don't know if Fujiwara-slash-Hakeda has been closing them or not but I left mine open intentionally to draw you out, knowing you would break your cover to close such a large rift, but that's not the only thing you need to worry about...I am an enigma miss Asahina, a slider, I am not bound by what you know as the future, nor do I intend to become bound."<p>

* * *

><p>Before she could react, Suyou appears out of thin air between the three parties, saying "You do not belong in this place, nor do those you call Shinjin."<p>

Ray chuckles a bit once more before saying "I take it you managed to access my language database as I planned. It's much easier to communicate under these circumstances is it not?".

* * *

><p>10112001<p>

* * *

><p>Kyon was having a hard time wrapping his head around the situation, always giving into awe, unable to do much, but he has had enough, as far as he knew however, Nagato was fine, Ray had done something to help her.<p>

No more holding back.

Kyon distanced himself slightly from the rest, saying "I don't know exactly what's going on here and I don't care. I don't care what the future is like but this is my present, settle your problems in your time, leave us out of it! And Earth belong to us, to humanity! Not to the Sky Canopy Dominion, the Data Overmind or little green men from Mars! Why can't you leave us alone?".

Ray grinned as Kyon finished his rant, breathing slightly faster than normal from having let out his thoughts on the situation, Ray let his grin drop and said "I can't avoid interacting with you Kyon...I came here to do something specific and I think you have a right to know, seeing that we're on the same page."

* * *

><p>12110112<p>

* * *

><p>Mikuru and FujiwaraHakeda both seemed to focus before Ray said anything, and Mikuru drew a firearm to the surprise of Koizumi, Kyon and Tachibana, opening fire with white projectiles which merely impacted a white hexagonal barrier several inches from Ray's body as he laughed, saying "I'm also from a future 100 years farther than yours little firefly, nothing you can do will affect me in the least, I am unaging, undying and more importantly...willing to kill to ensure Suzumiya survives to see the future I call my home..."

Ray looked at Kyon, whose face changed as he heard those words, he was more shocked at what he just said more than the sight of Mikuru shooting a gun at somebody with the intent to kill.

Ray formed a blade from nothing, taking form from a blue-white hexagonal aura before showing itself as a Katana which was now pointed at Suyou who said "Your presence here does not change our decision, for the universe to be stable, Haruhi must die.."

* * *

><p>Ray quickly changed his stance as he said "There are only two ways for you to leave this place Suyou. That's leaving it after killing me or leaving behind an inoperable mobile terminal which we humans call a corpse..."<p>

Lighting cackled through Ray's blade as he and Suyou disappeared from sight, less than a millisecond later, the wall broke through and sparks flew across what was the school grounds.

* * *

><p>Ray was actually enjoying this, as he parried Suyou's attacks with effort, she has definitely been upgraded, either Duran betrayed him or the Canopy Dominion anticipated the need for her to be fully combat functional without support, but regardless there was a job to do here and that was kill Suyou before the closed space around them collapsed, Ray was powerful, but he only was able to infiltrate this region with a memento of his timeline's Suzumiya Haruhi, the SOS-dan brigade chief's armband.<p>

Suyou and Ray began moving at even faster speeds, clashing swords, Suyou had formed her own Nanite Blade for combat with the same design as Ray's only slightly longer with the blade's length, but Ray's was more balanced than her blade.

Dashing back after a relentless flurry failed to contact Suyou's form, Ray threw three throwing knives at FTL speeds towards Suyou who dodged them gracefully to send her blade at Ray only to phase through him as if he wasn't there, Ray's crimson red eyes changed pattern, slowly developing a cat-like pattern as he unleashed another flurry of attacks, this time his blade's color changed to a crimson blood-red color with a red lighting trail in each strike which Suyou either evaded or deflected with her own blade.

Ray saw an opening and sent his blade forward which Suyou dodged, only to be stabbed by Ray's left hidden blade which then glowed golden, sending an energy pulse that sent Suyou flying into the closed space wall, hitting it with force did nothing but create the usual effect, but Suyou's body disagreed as blood began to soak her school uniform.

Unfazed as she cannot feel pain as strong as humans do, she shifted behind Ray to land several blows against his Nanite Shield, the Hexagonal White Barrier which before-hand stopped bullets from Asahina's sidearm. Suyou said something at a rate only Ray was able to perceive, she said "Tactical Action:Three Pillars".

This caused three data spikes to rise out of the ground which Ray evaded effortlessly

Ray now knew finally how she manipulates data. She does request permission...from herself...to perform such actions.

Suddenly Koizumi appeared in sight, sending a pulse of red energy at both Ray and Suyou.

Suyou simply evaded it whilst Ray's Nanite Shield withstood the impact. Ray grinned while saying "Well, you are an esper after all..". at the same time Ray spoke, Suyou took advantage of a perceived opening and flung a hidden blade extending from her right hand's skin into Ray's Nanite Shield, causing it to shatter like glass, Ray dashed back several times, his face now serious and filled with killing intent.

* * *

><p>11010112<p>

* * *

><p>Koizumi noticed Ray stopped talking and having changed his attitude, he was through playing. Koizumi was good but this was a fight he couldn't win alone, it was like trying to interfere with a fight between two gods rather than a slider and an alien. Koizumi mentally said "Divine Light:Millenium of Suffering" which then resulted in several red spikes being fired from his hands at Suyou alone who was dodging each one only for Ray to take advantage of the opening and slice Suyou's left arm clean off with his Nanite Blade.<p>

* * *

><p>10111202<p>

* * *

><p>Ray realized Koizumi was now targeting Suyou specifically, for the moment at least, he was an ally. Ray noticed also that Suyou now had a new left arm, albeit lacking a sleeve to cover it. Ray did not have a moment of indecision as he continued to charge at Suyou at a pace Koizumi was having a hard time keeping up with, if anything his presence was merely like that of a striker in a fighting game.<p>

Suyou continued to evade Ray's blade swipes and suddenly shifted the tide by sending several data spikes of her own at Ray who evaded each one as he made a note of his HUD which showed something in his bottom right corner. "Nanite Shield Offline". He was not going to underestimate any data-based life from now on, she had  
>easily shattered his Nanite Shield with a single well placed attack.<p>

But it was time to finish this, even if it meant losing control for a moment.

* * *

><p>Ray dashed back further as Suyou dodged another barrage from Koizumi, Ray however decided to let himself go as his eyes changed from their red catlike formation to a violet formation, showing Suyou as Red and Koizumi as Blue, Eagle Vision.<p>

Ray then activated with a thought his trump card, the Gauntlets of EDEN, which shined golden, forming two orange energy blades in the above-wrist position instead of the usual below-wrist position the metal blades were evident from.

Suyou then proceeded to ignore Koizumi outright and charge at Ray who dashed forward to meet her, searing off her right arm which reformed immediately, but Ray shifted around and formed another Nanite blade which then pulsed with an orange energy aura as he slashed at Suyou madly, causing her to be cut several times. Instead of blood however there were cauterised singes as if she was hit by extreme heat.

Suyou backed off slightly and evaded a set of red bolts from Koizumi's direction as Ray charged forward again, forcing Suyou on the defensive as she continued to form Nanite blades to try and deflect his pulseblade only for them to be sliced in half like a hot knife through butter. The pace of the fight began to slow as both retreated to a distance with Suyou sending Data spikes at Ray while dodging Koizumi's attacks and with Ray counterattacking by digitizing a silver-plated Desert Eagle and firing repetitively as if it were fully automatic and having unlimited ammo, sending a hailstorm of bullets at Suyou who had adapted her own Nanite Shield to repel the attack, but she decided it was stable and charged towards Ray who activated his EDEN Blades once more, driving one into her shield, shattering it as he drove his other wrist-based EDEN blade into her stomach before turning around 180 degrees and throwing her at considerable distance with a fused and cauterised injury in her torso.

Koizumi hesitated for a moment as Ray continued to dash towards Suyou who was getting slower as Ray only got faster. If he challenged Ray in this state he would most certainly die, but something was also off about Ray...as if he were someone else...

* * *

><p>He then remembered his experience with the "White Assassin" beforehand and realized it was Ray all along...in this state he will kill anything that draws breath. Had he remained in that state for half a second more than he remembered, Koizumi would not be alive today, haunted by the memories of several long time friends sliced into several pieces by an otherworldly weapon.<p>

* * *

><p>Ray regained his senses as his eyes returned to their crimson red nature and he was now fighting Suyou at an equal level, he dare not enter his furious rampage so quickly in succession lest he be trapped in that state for the rest of his natural life.<p>

It had only been sixty seconds though it seemed as if hours passed as the fight continued, Ray extended his hidden blades and held them reversely like combat knives this time, assuming a more stable fighting stance as Suyou began to dash at him at a pace Ray now was matching (where before he had been faster, no doubt about it, Suyou was getting weaker)

As the fight resumed Ray continued to dodge Suyou who was also evading Ray's attacks. Suyou had a larger sword but Ray had two very versatile blades as he swept his leg at which Suyou jumped to evade only for Ray to continue his turning motion and drive his right blade up her stomach and into her heart just before she dashed backwards, now bleeding as this wasn't a high-temperature cut, but regardless she now recognized Ray was going to win a battle of attrition, and sure enough, Sasaki's closed space, which was now fighting with Haruhi's somehow began to crack and collapse alongside Haruhi's. But as soon as a hole was open Suyou received a command from her faction.

"The order to terminate Suzumiya Haruhi is rescinded, you are to adopt an observational approach instead."

Ray seemed to notice her change of expression but refused to let her leave unfazed as he held out his left arm at her, firing an orange arc of energy into her which sent her flying outside of closed space as it collapsed around them.

* * *

><p>1110122<p>

* * *

><p>Kyon's POV, In front of North High not even a second after they arrived<p>

* * *

><p>Sasaki, unaware of what happened, asks "Were here, now what?"<p>

Suyou is nowhere to be seen, which puts Kyon's mind at ease, in fact the only people there with him are Fujiwara (or Hakeda if that was his name based on what Mikuru said), Tachibana Kyoko and Sasaki. Fujiwara grabs his head and says "Things did not go according to the script...just who was that person."

Kyoko then said "We'll ponder over what happened later, for now we have to be sure of our allies.". Kyoko sighs and turns her head to Kyon, saying "We'll meet up again later after we sort things out, but it seems right now we have to attend to our own affairs before anything else happens. Hopefully we'll be able to get along."

With that Kyon merely nodded as they walked away, still shell-shocked from the combination of Ray's appearance and even more so, Suyou's threat against Haruhi.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Haruhi's House<p>

* * *

><p>Haruhi was laying in her bed, having made dinner for her parents as usual (making the food the way her mother likes it is kind of difficult so she usually has to make two dishes). Something rustles outside and she takes a look at the window before deciding to sleep after finding nothing out there.<p>

* * *

><p>Ray stands over a dead man in a suit near a tree, blood on his hands as his hidden blades retract, only this time his Robes are black and red instead of white and red, possibly to be difficult to see at night as he disposes of the body like he did with Kyoko's informants in the past.<p>

Ray sighs and says softly to himself "Suyou isn't the threat anymore...now I have to deal with NERV as well." while walking away, leaving no evidence that he was there.

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

* * *

><p>Afterword: Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it (Finding an appropriate song on youtube to listen to while writing certain scenes helps tremendously)<p>

Like before, the parts left out (like the mentioning of a conversation that was not written here) regarding Kyon and Sasaki's group heading to North High is taken into context of what happened in the manga, specifically book 19.

I haven't gotten book 20 yet but as far as I know that's the last one in the manga so far and also covers the last parts of the light novels (if Wikipedia is to be trusted) and so therefore this story now has a life of it's own and no longer needs to follow consistency as much as before.

Objects used (A list of things used from other games/shows/the like, might contain spoilers)

Hidden Blades (These designs are not typical of the games used, if best explained their a mix of Ezio's Blades and Connor's Blades, I will explain Ray's equipment used here in detail down the chapter.)

Apple of Eden (The golden sphere used to force Tsuruya back to bed and subdue the Estate's Guards without killing them.)

High Frequency Murasama Blade (In Metal Gear Rising, the blade used by Jetstream Sam is mirrored by Ray when he goes ballistic against Suyou)

Nanite Blades (Nanite Blades effectively look like Raiden's HF Blade from Metal Gear Rising and form as if decloaking something in Starcraft 2).

Gauntlet of Eden (A piece of eden I devised, unlike other pieces of eden this is a MILITARY TOOL.)

Mass Effect Pistol (The Pistol used by Mikuru effectively looks like a Predator Pistol from ME2 and fires rounds as if they were Cyro Rounds.)

* * *

><p>Ray's Weapons<p>

I am now going to explain the weapons Ray used here in detail, if you're not interested or just don't care then skip this as its the last entry in this chapter.

Contains Spoilers for Starcraft II:Heart of the Swarm

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Ray's Hidden Blades are part of his "Gauntlet of EDEN", a military tool used by the first civilization's infiltration specialists, with it he can also take the form of anyone of the distant past (It works like an Animus as well). It is cybernetically grafted into his arms, meaning instead of skin he has gauntlets there which can be holographically changed to mimic the appearance and feel of human skin, it's now a part of him and he couldn't remove them even if he wanted to. (And also can fool metal detectors into thinking there's nothing there, so he can easily walk into a high security building with enough firepower to level a small town or kill a TFEI Terminal.)

The Blades they use (the normal metal ones) are detachable and opposable like Connor's Blades, they are also connected by a magnetic thread and can be used like Rope Darts in that manner, a standard firearm exists on his gauntlets which can fire metal slugs at ultrasonic velocities, the gauntlet itself can also fire Proton Lances at FTL Velocities at targets, working as a powerful energy weapon (The Visual Effect looks like Iron Man's repulsors) and can focus them into energy blades that look like the orange psi blade used by Narud/Duran when he impales Kerrigan.

Ray's Nanite Blades are formed by tens of thousands of nanites magnetically locking eachother close to act as a powerful melee weapon and also act as a shield (the Nanite Shield which has a white hexagonal grid like appearance when hit, invisible when not hit) against hostile actions such as blades or gunfire. It is not flawless as evidenced by Suyou piercing it and Suyou's replica of it being pierced by Ray's Blades of EDEN.

Ray's Nanite Blades can also able to be charged with Psionic Energy to act like a High Frequency Blade (which is what happened when he went ballistic) and can effectively cut through almost anything that isn't magnetically shielded or being data based life (like Suyou, and even then it was more than enough to slice of her limbs). They can also transfer nanites to another object and physically take control of it's hardware (forming a crutch around an arm to force it to move against the will of it's owner for instance, or doing to same to tires, a keyhole or the electronic systems of a computer's hard-drive. In effect, it's the ultimate form of hacking where no antivirus will be enough to stop it as software is not it's only method of intrusion.) such as shown when he hijacks a car by stabbing the steering wheel with his blade.

As for Ray's Psionic abilities, they vary but common ones are charging an object with Thermo-Electric currents, hyper-vibrating a sword, transporting objects across sub-dimensions (Kamui) and absolute manipulation of electrical currents (Lightning)

* * *

><p>Till Next time...<p> 


	5. IV

"Memories cannot be forgotten, especially if you are an enigma."

* * *

><p>Chapter IV : Revelations Part One.<p>

* * *

><p>...Unknown Region of Space, early 27th Century...many...many years later.<p>

* * *

><p>There was silence, there was darkness and more importantly.<p>

. . . . . . . . .

There were Zerg.

A line of Marines continued to open fire on the unending swarm of zerglings that stormed at them, where one died several more took its place in the charge as the Marines slowly began to walk back as they fired their C-14 Gauss Rifles into the numberless aliens bent on tearing them to pieces.

If only they had not gone too far...if only they had not killed who they though was their true enemy.

Those words echoed in the mind of one man behind the line, backed to a mountain where the very floor was cackling lightning.

* * *

><p>111010221<p>

* * *

><p>Ray looked over the battlefield of what was the last of mankind, staring at his fellow UED Marines who were running short of ammunition.<p>

There was no backup, there was no hope, no resupply. This was the last of the entire human race against a relentless alien race. But Ray knew the face of his true enemy while his men did not...he did not want to give them any more fear than they already had. The Zerg were only puppets of a psionic being that was consuming the stars of their light and energy to fuel his own psionic power so he could recreate the universe in his image, and his image was approaching as the hour passed with the last dead zergling.

The Hybrid...

Ray cursed under his helmet as he flipped it down and pulled up his C20A Canister Rifle, a memento of the person who would have prevented the end of all things...

Gunfire continued to erupt with no effect upon the Hybrid who were seemingly immortal and just as numberless as the Zerg, Ray cursed again as his rifle was out of ammo, and there were no spare clips this time...but a glimmer of light appeared before him momentarily before sending him to a place he was unfamiliar with.

Then it hit him.

This was old earth...before all of this, before the invention of Warp Drive, even before the colonization of the moon, before the third world war, before all of that. Ray pondered for a moment, he was alone, it was no doubt a city but it was an empty city, the sky itself however was a greyish dim light, but compared to the pure darkness created by Amon when he consumed Sol, it was a godsend.

Ray wandered, rifle slung over his back and holding out a revolver he had saved, six rounds in the chamber, ready to kill whatever he shoots. But no matter how long he wandered in the bulky suit he wore, there was nothing, until he ran into some kind of barrier, invisible, yet he could not go past that line.

An entity appeared on the other side, no doubt it was a Protoss. Ray had seen archons before, killed some as well, but this was nothing of the sort, then it spoke "Do not be alarmed Terran, for I have saved you from the darkness, but I cannot maintain this haven for long, only enough to send you to a time where you can make a difference.

Ray replied "Do you have a name? How do I know you are not one of Amon's shapeshifters sent to fool with my mind. To give me more confusion before he completes his genocide of the human race!"

The Protoss responded "My name is Tassadar, I used to be an Executor of the Protoss before felling the Overmind, the merging of energies ascended me, my physical form perished yet my spirit remained intact. As best as you could interpret, I am a wandering soul."

Ray shook his head sideways slowly before saying "Let's say you're not lying, let's say you intend to help me, that you can send me into the past to stop Kerrigan from dying. What am I to do, become infested and help Kerrigan conquer the galaxy instead of the fallen Xel'Naga?"

Tassadar replied "No, it goes deeper than that, As I have seen the future, so shall I have seen the past, the power I used to save you was borrowed, from the past, but that is not important, what is important is that the person who wields it has it transferred unto another person who will survive the third world conflict of your homeworld, if she has such power, she can ensure her own immortality unto the future and save us all."

Ray paused a moment, letting Tassadar's words sink into his mind, he must go back prior to the third world war? That is almost 500 years back in time, Ray will grow old and die centuries before even the Brood Wars begin.

As Ray thought he suddenly felt the wall push towards him as if shrinking, to which Tassadar immediately said "I cannot keep this up forever, if this place collapses you will be sent back to the moment just before the Hybrid overwhelm you. My brothers and sisters fight on another world but they too will fall to the darkness. No place is untouched by Amon's hunger and this is the only way! I cannot do this without your consent, if I could we would not be having this conversation! Time is short!"

Ray nods and says "Do it, I have nothing to lose either way."

* * *

><p>1110110122112112001121120-...-Binary Transfer complete...<p>

* * *

><p>Ray wakes with a shock, in bed in his apartment, another dream...of those days.<p>

* * *

><p>Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan - 2014 A.D. - A Saturday<p>

* * *

><p>Ray left his house towards the Train Station. He had let it go to his head, a comfortable life in Earth's Past. The technology in entertainment was nowhere near the UED of the future but it was better than meeting his demise as the last human being in history to die. At the hands of Amon's abominations no less.<p>

Ray sat down on the bench waiting for his contact, who quickly appeared...Samir Duran, one of Amon's Shapeshifters.

Duran sat beside him, dressed like he was before and said "I have fulfilled my end of our arrangement, I trust you saw the evidence for yourself?"

Ray sighed and said "Suyou's actions prove she was desperate, I will uphold my end of the bargain." With those words Ray extended his hand towards Duran who grabbed it, but Duran was not expecting Ray to betray him. He had observed him for years before making contact with the proposal to work together...

Those thoughts swelled into Duran's mind as he felt his own psionic energy being drained by Ray who grinned as he suddenly picked him up and threw him into a speeding bullet train that conveniently sped by. Ray's eyes went grey as a HUD appeared to his view alone, scanning the rails.

Ray sighed and said "Damn, I thought that would do it, these bullet trains hit with the impact of an 90mm Crucio Gauss Shell. At the very least I've weakened Duran though." And sure enough there were no witnesses to see Ray's action, the meeting was set up in a stealth field deployed by Ray, so even if there were witnesses it would look like Duran suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flying into a bullet train with a surprised look on his face.

* * *

><p>11011012 l Nagato's Apartment<p>

* * *

><p>Kyon and the brigade had gathered at Nagato's apartment to study for an upcoming test, though Haruhi had already finished she still insisted the SOS-dan have study sessions periodically. Well it was better that she simply insisted on it instead of trying to force everyone subconsciously by looping a month until it happens.<p>

Ray was still on his mind, but Suyou too. Suyou had threatened to kill Haruhi, Ray claimed to be a slider and a time traveler, and had incredible abilities he's never even seen Nagato perform.

As Haruhi heads home, the rest decide to stay over Nagato's for a while, without telling Haruhi this intent.

* * *

><p>1110002201<p>

* * *

><p>The SOS-dan remained uneasily silent as Ray sipped some tea as if nothing had happened the previous week.<p>

Then he spoke, saying "I suppose you're all interested in my story, why I'm here? How I got here? What my intentions are regarding Suzumiya-san"

Koizumi then replied "The real reason we gathered here is to determine those three things and several others as well. It's in our best interests if you transfer back to the United States and not remain involved in this."

Ray almost choked on his tea with laughter as he heard Koizumi's words, his laughter arousing the ire of all present, even Nagato, which only Kyon and to a further extent, Ray were able to notice. Ray cleared his throat and said "Don't get me wrong, I have no hostile intentions towards you or Haruhi, but if I left now then someone else would do something as well, something horrible. I don't intend to let that happen. Like it or not, I'm here to stay, just think of me as Haruhi's bodyguard and no offense but there are things out there Nagato would be entirely unable to deal with that I could."

Kyon replied "Things even Nagato couldn't handle? I'm doubtful about that bu-" Ray interrupts Kyon, saying "Like the Canopy Dominion? They put her into a weakened state where she was just as vulnerable as a normal human whereas I nearly killed their only Humanoid Physical Terminal, A-Kay-A Konou Suyou practically single handedly. No offense Koizumi but you're only value against her upgraded state is a human shield and even that's debatable."

Koizumi ignored the statement at the end while Mikuru said "Even so, it would still be in your best interest as well as ours to just leave. I'm sure Koizumi-kun or Kyon-kun can think of something to keep Haruhi in the dark."

Ray sighed and said "If I simply leave then SEELE will have nothing to stand against them that could make a difference."

Mikuru was about to say something when there was a knock on the door, to the surprise of everyone save for Nagato who simply got up and opened the door, revealing the elder Asahina with a serious face, her younger self staring in confusion."

Ray got up and flicked his right wrist, showing to all his Hidden Blade. He spoke immediately, saying "If your intentions are hostile then you should just leave now, you know full well I have technological superiority here." the elder Mikuru sighed and said "Relax, I'm not here to antagonize you. As much as I dislike it, my superiors have ordered me to more openly assist now that you're involved."

Nagato closed the door behind the elder Mikuru as she walked in and sat down amongst the rest of the bewildered SOS-dan while Koizumi says "Is what Ray say's correct? Is SEELE intending to break the peace?" the elder Mikuru replies "In more ways than one. My goal is to prevent them from triggering a large scale civil war across Japan, between your organization and Tachibana Kyoko's Organization."

Ray sighs and says "Whatever happened to classified information?" the elder Mikuru then said "A lot of things have been declassified specifically for you, my younger self will notice this soon, a lot of words have been removed from the restricted list. But more importantly I'm no longer linked to her...I don't ever recall meeting my older self or even gathering in this room. As far as I know, Time has become fluid and everything we consider linear passage of time has no more meaning."

Ray laughs and says "Or you're temporally displaced like I am, an Enigma, you're out of place, the you standing before us is not the same Mikuru who's been attending North High for the past three years."

The elder Mikuru nods as Kyon then says "Wait, let me get this straight, no matter what happens to the younger Asahina-san, it won't affect the elder Asahina-san?"

Ray nods and says "That's exactly correct, it's not really that hard of a concept to grasp if you can get yourself to think non-linearly. Time isn't fluid or we wouldn't be sitting here talking about it, the elder Mikuru is simply displaced, in effect she is now like me, a slider."

Koizumi then says "Does that mean she can do the things you can do? Or are you simply meaning she comes from a timeline different from ours?" Ray replies "The latter. I have access to powers because of my own unique talents as well as overwhelmingly advanced nanomachines inside me which can leave my skin pores to act as a physical shield or offensive weapons such as ammo for firearms or melee armaments."

Ray pauses for a moment and says "But enough about that, It's time I told you of the future, and the timeline I arrived at. I am a slider because I failed my mission once, I do not intend to fail again."

The Elder Mikuru then says "Are you sure you want to tell us of the future? Remember you said before that you were 100 years further from my timeline, anything you say affects my future's decisions."

Ray sighs and says "There is no future where I'm from, no governments, no laws, no anything! Not even the stars shine in the darkness, there is not even despair because there is no-one left to have despair! As far as I know, I was the only human being left in all of the universe at the time I travelled through time, My goal is to stop that future because If I do not, it is the end of all mankind!"

Everyone was shocked beyond words, Nagato seems un-nerved though only Kyon seems to notice this.

Ray catches his breath and says "As they say...seeing is believing." with those words Ray pulls out the Apple of Eden to the awe of everyone present, it shines and begins projecting images, projecting words, projecting what it has recorded...

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

* * *

><p>Afterword:<p>

Some things to mention here.

A Temporal Enigma is someone who is not linked with the normal flow of time, in the case of the grandfather paradox where if you go back in time and kill your grandfather long before he has any children, how can you go back in time to kill your grandfather as your father is not born and thus in extension, yourself.

However with an Enigma, you are effectively creating a paraell universe or an alternate timeline. You are thus an alien to this timeline, a foreign entity like how an invasive species would be alien to an environment it was introduced to unnaturally (like Africanized Killer Bees, they were never in the Americas to begin with throughout evolution, they were introduced by humanity and thus changed the ecosystem, just as a time traveler can change history without any regard to his or her own wellbeing even if they went as far as to kill their younger selves.)

The word Ire is best explained as something in similar meaning to dislike or anger.

Sliders are individuals who can, without limiting the how (psionics, magic or technology all being valid methods) "slide" between paraell universes or alternate timelines. In example, if I were to travel to a universe where I was never born, I would be a slider as it's not my home universe. If I went to one where I did exist, then there would be two of me. The Me who is a slider and my Doppelganger who is a native of that universe.

Also don't take everything Ray says to others as absolute truth. As you can tell with some of the things in that scene at the start, Ray's told a few lies to the SOS-dan.

* * *

><p>Till next time...<p> 


	6. V

Foreword: There will be a scene that might be a little difficult to follow regarding "grammar" but this is intentional and will be explained in the afterword.

* * *

><p>"A Future without hope is no future at all."<p>

* * *

><p>Chapter V : Revelations Part Two.<p>

* * *

><p>11101122012212211 - Initiating Binary Transfer...complete...initiating Recognition process...select Genetic Sequence...Sequence 01...begin<p>

* * *

><p>It worked just like an Animus, only without the bleeding effect. Ray knew what he was doing here, he was showing them his past, his memories, but only a select few. If they knew everything all at once then the fallen Xel'Naga would win in the end. He had to start somewhere, and that somewhere was here...<p>

* * *

><p>Sequence 01 - A Message.<p>

* * *

><p>Date - July 19th, 2018, Masayf, Syria<p>

* * *

><p>The place was abandoned like so many other places the Assassin's once called home, Ray continued to scout out the place, dressed in simple clothes. He had come here to learn, and found no books, no wisdom, no knowledge. But he had in his possession five discs of strange nature, each holding a piece of memory from someone who used to live here. Altair ibn La'Ahad.<p>

Ray carefully inserted the discs in the otherwise large wall, his magnetic glove clinging to the metal with ease and with no ladder in sight it would have been extremely difficult without modern equipment, but that did not concern him.

The Puzzle was easy enough, link together one of the constellations. Ray had the sight Altair dubbed Eagle Vision and with the mag-gloves it was only a matter of minutes before the discs were in place and the door opened as Ray let himself drop to the ground effortlessly. Ray continued to walk forward, lighting the ancient torches as he proceeded forward to find a skeleton clothed in the robes of an Assassin, with one last disc near his foot, and one placed on the arm rest of the chair, with a note on it.

Ray viewed the one by his foot first, telling the story of Altair's final moments as he died in old age on the very chair he has sat for several hundred years. Ray had grown to respect him, even if all he had of his history were five, now six fragments of his memory.

Looking at the note he opened and read it, it was in Italian but Ray had learned it recently enough to interpret what was said in the letter.

It read "To he or she that finds this letter, I can only hope it goes to the hands of an Assassin, but I also must accept the risk it does not as this message cannot be left ignored for long. Down the steps further behind the remains of Altair is a pedestal, containing a treasure I have decided to leave for whomever finds it. Recent events have been enlightening and this disc will show you my true final moments. Somehow, though the process eludes me, I was saved from death, and even from my old age by a strange man who appeared Oriental in appearance. But I have come to realize he was not human. Words alone cannot express what I have seen. Only by seeing my experiences will you know. I have locked this place once more as you now know, you should understand the discs by now. Sincerely, Ezio Auditore da Firenze."

Ray placed the letter back in it's envelope, though rustled with age it is still well preserved because of the chamber's airtight seal. grabbing the disc, Ray relived a memory of the Florentine Eagle.

* * *

><p>Sequence 02 - A Parting Gift, March 7th, 1701 - Yamatai, Pacific Ocean<p>

* * *

><p>Ezio stared at the sky for a moment, brazen with storms. Then he stared at his own hands which were young again.<p>

He was alive, he was so sure he had felt the embrace of death from his ailing heart, but that seemed un-true now as his heart was beating well inside him, and he felt a presence behind him, turning on instinct, he realized his hidden blade was there as it extended forward, he would check his equipment later, for now, he had to deal with this oriental man in front of him, dressed in armor.

The man spoke first, saying "Do not be alarmed, I have brought you back alive and in the shape you were during your times in Roma when you fought against the Borgia. I know much of your history and need your assistance with a matter I cannot complete here..."

Ezio did not rescind his hidden blade and replied "Who are you, and why should I trust you? Whatever artifact you may have used aside, I demand answers. If you truly know me then you know I am not a simple-minded individual who goes about his daily life, ignorant of the rooftops."

The man chuckled and said "Well said, very well. I have had countless names over the millennia, there are no names you would know me by though I believe for the time being I shall use the alias Aizo.".

The man, known only as Aizo of which he made no effort to conceal it was an assumed name, held out a map and resumed speech, saying "No artifact brought you back. Only power, power I will use to revive someone more important and powerful than you could possibly imagine. I need a simple task. I have everything set to collect energy from this place but I cannot interfere directly for various reasons. For now, all you need to know is that in the center of this island on a temple is a woman consumed by hatred and despair, she ravages the waters and skies around, swatting down ships that dare sail near here and entrapping them on the island for the rest of their lives, even denying death from them. I need you to end the despair."

Ezio replied "And if I refuse?". Aizo laughed and said "You are free to do so, but I will not return you to Italia if you do so. And I very much doubt the Sun Queen of Yamatai will allow you to leave alive."

Ezio pondered at his situation for a moment, he needed to get his bearings and there were none. He was in unfamiliar land with an unfamiliar face and, after checking his equipment, was armed with what he had in Roma. The Sword of Altair, a stiletto, his hidden blades, his hidden pistol and a short crossbow. His robes white and red like before, but something was amiss, his memory was better than it had ever been so he knew it was not a lapse he felt. His spaulders, boots and other armoring were slightly golden.

Aizo noticed Ezio's reaction and said "A gift, armor worn by those who came before in military affairs. You will need it to survive this place."

Ezio decided to take the map that was still extended and said "What year is it, I need to know how long I have been gone." with those words Aizo grinned and said "Very well, your people call this time 1701 AD, a little under a century passed and the world that knew you believes you passed away in peace of a heart attack."

With those words, Aizo disappeared in a blue haze to Ezio's bewilderment who reconfirmed his equipment, this time being more precise.

He had the Sword of Altair, a stiletto of excellent quality, 20 throwing knives, 30 round shot for his hidden pistol, a metal cestus, two hidden blades, though he lacks a hookblade. Also 25 crossbow bolts, a short crossbow shaped like an Eagle, his new, strange armor, his hidden pistol, poison blade, six vials of poison, 40 darts which he can coat and fire and five vials of smelling salts to numb any pain he receives from injuries.

He couldn't be better equipped for a mission if he were still in Roma.

* * *

><p>One Hour later, Old Temple<p>

* * *

><p>Ezio slipped past the Oriental Guards with ease, their armor reminds him of pictures of warriors from Japan known as Samurai. He also knows they live by the sword and die by the sword and should not be underestimated, especially since some shipwrecked sailors fired Muskets at their armor and they didn't even flinch at being shot. They could not be human to simply shrug off bullets, so Ezio must take great care not to get into open conflict if he wants to survive the island's horrors.<p>

Ezio made his way into the temple quietly along the roof support beams and other high places, whatever these things are, they share something in common with the average human. They don't look up. With that in mind Ezio has no trouble sneaking past them, he has given up reading what books and scrolls he comes across. He knows only Italian, French, English and some Spanish and Chinese, though he couldn't read Chinese to save his life, he does know a few words from when that woman visited him and his family along with bringing memories of a life he wanted to remain in the past.

And now this other man, this Aizo had stolen the peace and tranquility Ezio sought. But he still did not want to die, he would seek a means to leave this place and see what the world had become. Based on information he acquired from the several shipwrecks near the shore before he made his way inland, he knows that there is a life to be had in a place called the Caribbean, perhaps he will chart a ship there and see what the New World is like, he had heard stories from his brothers in the Assassins he had sent to listen in on Templar affairs. But he has never himself seen it.

* * *

><p>Ezio made his way past another group of guards. If this place wasn't so hostile he wouldn't mind spending some time here to take in the architecture. He did have a mild passion for art, possibly because of all the time spent with Leonardo who took great pride in fashioning the Codex Inventions, including some artistic touches not originally in there such as the design of his hidden pistol. True Leonardo fashioned it from the codex but he applied a few other things that were not originally there such as a flipping sight to help with aiming at distance, without which he would not have been able to fire at such distance with any chance of hitting the target.<p>

* * *

><p>It was snowing, he was either at great height or this was an un-natural blizzard, but he saw his target, encased in ice, appearing dead yet still guarded. Whatever unholy abomination existed here did not matter, Ezio was certain that even if he was here of his own free will, he needed to end this and so he made his way towards the woman, only to be ambushed by several Samurai, one impossibly large and carrying some kind of large, spiked club.<p>

Ezio may not have the strength of these things but they do not have the agility the Master Assassin has learned and honed for several decades, evading these attacks is second nature to Ezio, anyone getting caught by that rampaging brute could never call himself an experienced Assassin with any degree of honesty. Though it had been a long time, hopefully the Brotherhood had not slacked in training it's recruits.

Quickly pacing himself, sidestepping often, Ezio made it hard for the brute and it's allies to keep up, their swords were sturdy and sharp...but the Sword of Altair's was even more so as it sliced through one of their blades clean and taking one of their lives in something others have always called a counter kill. Ezio quickly made short work of the lesser Samurai while evading the brute's attacks and after a few moments, spotted an exposed neck and quickly drew his crossbow, sending a bolt through it's neck which seemed to have little effect other than to cause it pain.

"Cazzo!" was the word escaping Ezio's mouth as he dodged yet another strike, Ezio had to get personal as he dashed around the brute and climbed its back before stabbing his blade, now coated in poison straight into the back of the creature's neck before jumping off it and getting distance as it went into an insane flurry, seemingly attacking something non-existent before convulsing and lying dead upon the ground after 15 seconds. Ezio had finally killed it and now knew how to do it. He quickly replaced the round shot in his hidden pistol with poison darts, this was the only way to best the brutes.

* * *

><p>Just as Ezio approached the Queen after dispatching several of her guards, she went into some kind of fury, sending energy that knocked Ezio back, he could hear Aizo laughing behind him. Turning around, he saw that he was.<p>

Azio chuckled as he said "I must thank you Ezio for performing your mission so flawlessly."

Ezio replied "She is not dead, why do you appear, and how did you get here. If you have been lying to me...". Aizo sighed and said "Your kind are all the same, so easily manipulated, have you ever wondered why Cesare became what he was? I nudged him here and there, of course he believed it to be dreams of conquest, but I kept him going, pushed him forward when he would have been satisfied, nudging him closer to your blade."

Ezio snapped at him, shouting "If what you say is true then it is your fault my Uncle Mario is dead, Cesare was just one of your puppets, that makes you no different then the rest of the Templars who continue to deny the freedom all of man is rightfully owed!"

Aizo chuckles as he says "You did not deserve to be free, you took your freedom with blood from the hands of those you call the First Civilization, I will allow you a glimpse of the future Ezio, a glimmer of the despair will exist..."

* * *

><p>Ezio saw it all, the vision of the death of mankind, he saw man fight with firearms that fired repetitively, that needed loading only after sending countless rounds at some kind of abomination, things that were best described as demons. Some small, like some kind of insect the size of a man.<p>

Then he saw one man at the end disappear with no discernible cause. but something inside Ezio told him he was still alive somehow. He elected not to share this part of the vision with Aizo who seemingly did not notice, or care.

* * *

><p>"Ezio, wake up!" a voice called<p>

Ezio woke to his wife, Sofia, standing over him as he slowly got up, rubbing his eyes, looking out the window. Sofia then said "You were having some kind of Nightmare, Are you sure you're up for this? To head to Masayf?"

Ezio's memories snapped, he was now back just before his journey with Sofia to Masayf to uncover the library, though he knew now what would happen.

He decided to let history play it's part until he reached the Library, repeating things as if from memory.

* * *

><p>Masayf, Ottoman Empire<p>

* * *

><p>Ezio set a letter he prepared on the ship with another disc he had found in a place only he knew about because of his knowledge of the future. Encoding his experience into the disc he hoped that somehow this would alter the future as he set the letter on top of the disc, leaving Altair's disc by his foot.<p>

* * *

><p>End Sequence<p>

* * *

><p>Sequence 03 - The Apple of Eden.<p>

* * *

><p>Masayf, Syria - July 19th, 2018<p>

* * *

><p>Ray placed the disc inside his leather jacket as he got up and walked towards the pedestal behind Altair.<p>

Sure enough it was there, untouched for centuries, a piece of eden.

Ray grabbed it, and suddenly a vision overcame him...

* * *

><p>Appearing before him was not any of the usual three, but a fourth...<p>

"Ah, hello there, I'm recording this information for a Raymond Zenji, the others don't know and I've worked on a better translation matrix compared to them, so this shouldn't sound like a cryptic warning or the like. I'll be blunt, my name is Aita and you may or may not have heard of my wife, Juno. In any event, we are testing several things and tomorrow we'll be testing if we can transfer ourselves into machines to survive a coming destruction. I've worked the calculations and can say for sure that by the time you get this message, the cataclysm will be averted and there will be a rather...glorious new age for the world. There is margin for error but it's rather small, I'll probably have to recalibrate the system next time, assuming nothing goes wrong with this experiment. Ah but let's get back to what I need to tell you specifically. It was only recently that I alone discovered we are not alone in the universe. We've been sending signals since before the rebellion, assuming you know about that, anyway. We've been sending signals and I got a response from an alien race called the Xel'Naga, now I know that all the calculations say we won't finish our projects in time to save our civilization but Tinia and Minerva keep trying anyway, waste of resources if you ask me. But thankfully they kind of...misplaced one of their spheres, you call them Apples of Eden, which is ironic considering that's what we call our civilization, Eden. In any event, contact was neither friendly nor hostile, they merely acknowledged our existence and went silent after that until I was contacted again by an individual of their race called Amon who promised to help our world if we accepted one of his agents. Obviously he's not going to get here in time, even with their means to go faster than light but we worked out a deal where they'll prepare to save it in your time, according to calculations without his help it will be impossible to program everything fast enough. Anyway sorry if I've not been clear in some things, the translator isn't perfect, it's just only slightly more accurate. I'll be directly sending the location of several objects of interest for you to use."

* * *

><p>End Sequence<p>

* * *

><p>Their senses started returning...control over their bodies, even Nagato was made partially non-responsive during the session as Ray caused the apple in his hand to vanish in the usual swirling motion he uses to teleport.<p>

Koizumi breaks the silence, saying "The only dark future you've shown us was the vision Aizo showed Ezio, the rest seemed unrelated to what's going on."

Ray sighs and says "It's related, very related but also I'm not entirely used to projecting memories to someone else with the apple, So some things were not entirely linear, I'd rather not try again so quickly as there could be complications, a few uses set a distance apart has no problem like with what I and several others call the bleeding effect but if used too often too quickly, well let's say you'd rather suffer from the bleeding effect instead of the other consequences."

The Elder Mikuru then says "From what I understand, the future you showed us is part of the unaltered timeline, my timeline.. I'm sure there's more you could be telling us, why aren't you, and I know it's not the length of the session, I'm familiar with the object you just used."

Ray sighs and says "I have my reasons for keeping you in the dark. Just think of them like the reasons you keep Haruhi in the dark."

Nagato then replies "I understand, as you are from the future, you are working to avert that future, how we react to information given can affect the success of your mission and you believe we will react adversely to all the information given, meaning we would either ensure or even accelerate the future you seek to prevent."

These words sink into the other brigade members present as Ray simply nods and says "That's correct. I will reveal more when the time comes, but until then I hope we can put our hostilities towards eachother aside for the common good of the universe, everyone...everything will be affected by the future I came from, all of you stand to lose if I fail. Humanity would die, The Future would become nonexistent and the Integrated Data Thought Entity would cease to function. I aim to prevent all of that."

* * *

><p>Little more was said as they let the revelations sink in, though Nagato immediately left, being a TFEI she already processed the information as it was given. What seemed like days was actually seconds to them as they went their way in preparation for the next day and the day after that...<p>

* * *

><p>There was still more work to be done, more missions to accomplish and more secrets to be unearthed.<p>

* * *

><p>11010112201<p>

* * *

><p>Kyon laid still on his bed after a seemingly uneventful day. It had been a week and not much else was said. He was sure a lot of thoughts came to mind but at the same time nobody was talking about it, not amongst the brigade anyway and certainly not with him. But then his cell phone rang.<p>

He picked it up and awnsered "Hello?"

On the other end was Sasaki, who said "Kyon, it's me, we need to talk." Kyon sat up and replied "Sasaki? What's going on?"

Sasaki paused for a moment before replying "It's important. Tachibana-san asked me to call you and ask if you'll meet us at the train station again at the usual time. Something is off though, I would appreciate it if you brought someone who's able keep you safe, she was dead serious and wouldn't tell me anything other than that it was urgent."

Something wasn't right here, another meeting after what happened a few weeks ago when Suyou and Ray had a grudge match in closed space? Kyon decided to reply "Alright, I'll be cautious, is there anything else?"

The phone hanged up.

Sasaki didn't reply on the other end, something was seriously wrong and though as much as he didn't want to, Kyon had two choices, he could ask Nagato, or he could ask Ray.

Kyon pondered for a while before picking up his phone again and dialing Ray's number.

Ray answered right away saying "I'm surprised you're calling me, is something up?" Kyon then said "Sasaki just called me and I'm not sure what's going on, she said Kyoko wants me to meet them at the train station tomorrow, she specifically asked if I could bring someone that could keep me safe, as if she was expecting something bad to happen, and worse, after I asked her about that, she just hung up. It doesn't sound good and though I should be going to Nagato about this but something just tells me I'll be better off with you."

Ray sighed and said "Alright I'll help, this is rubbing me the wrong way as well. We'll meet near the school before heading to the station."

Kyon then replied "Thanks...I'll see you tomorrow." and with that he hanged up before laying back down on the bed, he couldn't help but feel concern for Sasaki more than for himself for some reason.

* * *

><p>Same Time, some alleyway<p>

* * *

><p>Ray who was dressed in his Assassin's Robes released his index finger from his ear and turned his head towards someone in a suit who was being grabbed by Ray's left hand, hidden blade extended in his right hand, saying "That better not be related to SEELE..." before driving his blade into the man's heart and disposing of the body with Kamui.<p>

Ray sighs and gets up after cleaning his blade and activating his Gauntlet of Eden and accessing it with a HUD and selects two names from a list on his HUD.

Ezio Auditore and Edward Kenway.

Ray then says to himself "It's a good thing I can bring these people back temporarily at least with this device."

Ray then proceeds to shroud himself, becoming invisible.

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

* * *

><p>Afterword<p>

I'll clear some things up here incase you didn't get them.

Ray used the apple of eden like an Animus here, showing select memories to the SOS-dan from both him and to an extent, Ezio (thanks to a memory disc aka Masayf Key)

And yes, Yamatai from Tomb Raider, Ezio's been there according to this chapter, though he wasn't able to kill her, someone else will do it for him in the present.

Aizo is Duran, after all he is a shapeshifter and has used various names across the pages of history. He did not assume his Duran persona yet at the time he manipulated Ezio into releasing some of the Sun Queen's psionic energy (which you can assume was collected for the purpose of resurrecting Amon)

Aita's message for Ray not properly grammar lined on purpose because of the translation software he used to leave the message wasn't complete as the first civilization don't speak English, they have their own language and use a translator to communicate (The reason their so cryptic is because of the way their translation software is programmed.)

His message also occurred in the first unaltered timeline (Before Ray was sent back in time by Tassadar and long before the events in any of the Starcraft Games.)

[Spoiler Alert for Assassin's Creed IV:Black Flag and Assassin's Creed III]

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

Aita's message was before the experiment that sent him into an endless cycle of rebirth as the "Sage" meaning at the time he left the message he was still in his original body, not yet killed the first time by Juno (which was mercy killing because he was in a catatonic state when the experiment did not go as planned).

Because the translator wasn't perfect there were still grammar errors (like how when your reading Desmond's Email in AC3 and Juno's first and second emails make little to no sense)


	7. VI

"Nothing is true, Everything is permitted"

* * *

><p>Chapter VI : The Gathering Storm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray woke up early as his clock remained silent at 4:07 am. He got up and strapped on his hidden blades and opened a lock only his blade could open, it doubling as a key. Opening a rather large chest containing brilliantly tailored Italian Robes, modified with more modern means of protection such as Kevlar and other fiber-optic means of protection meant to stop bullets, but also brimmed over and under them are thin but slightly golden metal sheets, most likely of first civilization origin, other than the modern armor additions it was an exact duplicate of Ezio's Robes, white and red. White for the innocence protected and red for the blood spilled.<p>

Ray dressed in the robes and strapped on several attachments for his hidden blades including hidden pistols, torque operated grappling hooks and other equipment only a modern assassin would be privy to. His eyes went red as he himself swirled out of existence via kamui into a dimension of large blocks that looked like skyscrapers without windows as he simply jumped on the adjacent one and swirled before a bewildered Kyon at the front gate of their school.

* * *

><p>Kyon broke the silence saying "Isn't that conspicuous?" to which Ray replied "If Sasaki was in a state of duress it's best they don't know I'm here, I can simply do this and they will be none the wiser.".<p>

With those words said he pushed a small button on his left arm which shrouded Ray, blending in perfectly so much that if he remained silent further he'd believe Ray wasn't there at all.

Ray then said "I only plan on making myself known if they pick a fight, I'll be close by incase they try to cause a closed space environment and I will warn you. If Suyou gets out of hand, I won't go easy on her like I did during that incident two weeks ago."

* * *

><p>10101212<p>

* * *

><p>"Go Easy? Is that what that grudge match was?"<p>

Those words echoed in Kyon's mind and he walked towards the train station seemingly alone, though in reality he could somehow feel Ray's presence by the fluster of the robes he wore in the wind that blew towards them.

Sure enough standing there at the usual place was Sasaki and them. Fujiwara, whom might also be called Hakeda, Tachibana Kyoko, Konou Suyou and someone he was unfamiliar with, a man of African Descent, obviously an adult dressed in a black trenchcoat who broke the silence saying "You can show yourself, that stealth module you rigged is pathetic to say the least."

* * *

><p>1010120012<p>

* * *

><p>Sure enough Ray revealed himself dressed in the robes of the Italian Assassin as he decloaked to the surprise of Sasaki's group save of course for none other than Samir Duran.<p>

Ray replied in the direction of Tachibana "You do realize you're making a deal with the devil..."

Her response was "We share a common enemy, you. I would appreciate if we didn't have a repeat performance of two weeks ago." Ray simply replied "We won't because if you give me cause to fight, this time I'll fight to kill."

Those words caused fear in both Fujiwara and Tachibana, Sasaki also seemed somewhat scared though not from Ray's words, he could tell she was scared from the start, and had been scared for some time most likely. Ray decided to continue speaking, saying "If we're going anywhere with this conversation it's not involving that thing. He's not human and Suyou can confirm that."

Suyou indeed did confirm it by saying "He is an entity we have not encountered before in all of our existence. This is precisely why we are interested in him, to learn. Just as we are interested in this planet which is otherwise insignificant, to learn about your form of life. Carbon Based Life."

Ray could tell she made a good job of studying the data he let go unsecured intentionally to make conversation with her easier, she no longer had the lack of consistency or communication skills she had prior to today and possibly knew more English than Japanese at this point considering it was the focused language in his database as it was his first language.

Fujiwara then said "Ray, I don't know exactly what your intentions are but I want to make it clear that if you get in our way we will do everything in our power to deal with you. Even going so far as to align with strangers and worse."

Ray knew the meaning behind those words as he said "SEELE cannot be trusted, nor should you even try to. They are openly attempting to incite Tachibana's organization into direct conflict with Koizumi's." shifting his focus to Kyon he continued speaking, saying "Kyon, this is bigger than you think, if those two organizations duke it out there will be no containing the situation, it'll mean a new era of global proxy wars, they're not just limited to the city, both of these organizations are global superpowers with standing armies large enough to challenge both the East and West and win if they wanted to."

Both Kyon and Sasaki were stunned by this revelation as Duran broke the silence saying "Whether you agree or not doesn't matter. Your presence is interesting but insignificant to say the least. If provoking me is your intent you will not be able to succeed. I serve a power beyond your comprehension and I have no interest in the two Shinjin, their power isn't compatible with my plans, it cannot be used for the restoration."

Ray replied "I can provoke you at any time, I know your previous alias, Aizo, and I know the aliases you'll use in the future."

Duran replied "The future is fixed, it cannot be changed, no matter how many times you split the timeline it will always end the same way, with his resurrection."

Kyon stepped back a little after hearing the name Aizo in play, that was the man who deceived Ezio in the vision Ray showed the SOS-dan. Ray on the other hand took a step forward, extending his hidden blade saying "I don't know what your game is on Earth but I will always be there to interfere however I can, this you already know. I also know about the little cover up you made to defer anyone who breaks the information blockade over the prefecture." with those words Ray pulls out a manga book labeled the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi before saying "Ironic that your cover up is exactly what I needed to confirm my theories. I also know things that aren't in this book, it's light novel origins and its anime counterpart. Dare I speak the truth of exactly how you'll transfer power from Haruhi to Sasaki?"

Tachibana stepped forward and without holding back some anger that was seething inside her she shouts "Have you any idea the difference that could be made? Some sacrifices must be done, if you say anything further on this subject I won't hold back any longer."

Ray chuckled as she finished, saying "Afraid Sasaki will decide not to cooperate? Is that why you're potentially strong arming her now? I can see the fear in her eyes plain as day. Hell I can smell it because of it's strength." Ray forms a Murasama Blade in his hand with a strange sheath, armed with a bullet magazine and trigger close to the slot where the sword's hilt rests as he continues to speak, saying "This is my counterbalance, my instrument of death. I'm through playing by the rules, you're method of transfer is a fatal action, I used to think like you, that Sasaki was better suited but when I realized you'll be killing Haruhi in the process I resolved to abandon that method and seek another. I might fail, I might not stop the coming end but I can say this with absolute certainty. I'll be damned if I sit back and do nothing while you suck the life out of another human being just to make a false god!"

There was silence, it shuddered both Sasaki and Kyon as those words came out of Ray's mouth who was now panting, seemingly in anger. Kyon thought Ray could snap at any moment, using that sword for it's purpose against Kyoko and the others.

Is what he said true? Will the transfer of power kill Haruhi? By the look on Sasaki's face this is the first she's ever heard of that. He is definitely sure that she never knew anything of the like. She would never condone such an action even if she did want such power.

Sasaki took a look at Ray who merely nodded and placed his index finger on the trigger of the sheath, holding the grip of the blade with his right hand as he formed a stance, looking dead into Duran's eyes with the intent to kill. There was no avoiding what came next, it was faster then even the shapeshifter could react to.

* * *

><p>11- Binary interrupted.<p>

* * *

><p>Ray sliced Duran clean in half, his injured positions cauterised instantly as red electricity cackled throughout the crimson blade, the gunshot echoed across the area deafening Sasaki and Kyon but not the others, Suyou being a Non-Biological and the others most likely used to the sound of gunfire.<p>

Ray turned towards Suyou who formed another Nanite shield only for it to broken and lose her left arm in the process of evading, Ray continued to pursue as he noticed Sasaki dashing towards Kyon shouting "Let's get out of here now!"

Ray dashed back, being between Sasaki and the others, shouting "Leave! Find a place to hide or a place that's saf-" Ray was interrupted by a massive bolt of lighting coming at him, his Nanite shield collapsed under its strength though nothing else occurred, Duran stood there in one piece again, only with an orange aura forming around where he was cut as Ray forms a different stance, sheathing his blade and dashing into the fray once more.

* * *

><p>Kyon and Sasaki just kept running down the street as Suyou tried to break through to intercept only for Ray to interdict her movements with sword strikes and parries as Duran focused only on killing Ray with sheer force, sending several inhumanly shaped tentacles that shifted from what used to be his arms at Ray, sharp talons charged with a sinister dark lighting which slammed into the pavement as Ray evaded rather than attempting to parry them and sent a charge of energy from the Gauntlet of Eden in Duran's direction, slicing off his left shoulder and in extension, the tentacles on it stopped moving.<p>

Ray activated the Gauntlet which began to glow brightly, forming golden grids which took solid shape and form of two people.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Edward Kenway, who while puzzled looks came across their faces, they acted beyond human capacity, likely augmented from the Gauntlet's energies so much that they were able to fight at the pace of Suyou and Duran with equal force.

Ezio spoke saying "Merde! What happened, and why is my body moving of its own volition?", Edward also was confused as he drew his pistol swords and began a relentless attack against Suyou, saying "Don't know mate but from what I can tell it's got to be the work of an artifact."

Ray dashed forward at an opening, decapitating Duran and continuing to mutilate his now headless main body with his sword, knowing full well that the damage he's done so far isn't enough. Ray telepathically sent a message to both Assassins saying "I'll explain everything later when I get the chance, for now simply know you fight against those who share the same beliefs of the Templars. As for you Ezio, this man is the latest form of Aizo."

Ezio began to fight of his own accord, no longer being puppeted though still augmented, he knew Aizo was not human and it was not out of the question that he would have changed appearance. Aizo was not the first persona of the shapeshifter Ezio had known, if only he had more discs he could have left more messages of the man's actions, but for now he knew one thing more. That young oriental woman was also not human, able to keep up with him in his augmented state and perform unbelievable acts as he had just dodged several white energy spikes.

* * *

><p>The pace of the fight changed as Ray sent another arc shot from his gauntlet towards Suyou, immediately severing the arm she regenerated moments after said regeneration, Duran moved to a defensive state as he had two augmented Master Assassins relentlessly assaulting him, just barely dodging a hidden pistol shot from Ezio only to be shot several times by Edward's pistols which glowed slightly after firing, reloading a new round at a pace the old muzzle loaders shouldn't be able to reload.<p>

Ray's eyes glowed brighter as he charged a massive arc of red lighting through his sword whilst charging Duran, sheathing his blade and quickly using the Gundraw feature to deliver another deadly blow at which Duran reformed his shape again only to dash away from them while saying "Who knows how long it will take to recover to full strength now, this isn't over."

Ray wastes no time as he intends to end the shapeshifter's meddling here and now, firing several arc shots at Duran, weakening him further as he uses his depleting psionic energy to regenerate severed limbs cut off from the Gauntlet of Eden or Ray's High-Frequency Murasama.

Ezio draws his crossbow for a quick shot, but when the arrow comes into contact with Duran it explodes in a golden energy pulse which knocks Duran back further.

Duran now sees that he's both outnumbered and outmatched here and decides to retreat, forming some kind of wormhole behind him as he dashes back once more as it closes just as Ray fires an arc shot into it. Ray curses under his breath and turns towards Suyou who has again regenerated a lost arm.

* * *

><p>Ray converts his Assassin allies into energy for the gauntlet, dismissing their presence and he now faced Suyou alone, Fujiwara and Kyoko have ran off to avoid the conflict occurring and Ray could hear sirens in the distance.<p>

This was not in a constricted data jurisdiction zone nor in closed space, this was happening in real time and there are witnesses, if he wasn't in his robes he would easily be identified, this is what he expected however as Suyou is not like the IDTE's terminals. She cannot enclose a region in a pocket dimension, she's forced to fight in the local space she's present. Granted she can escape or infiltrate data jurisdiction zones but not create them.

Ray charges at Suyou who forms a Nanite Blade which is able to take Ray's HF Blade's normal strikes. Ray continues to parry attacks and counterattack with his blade and gauntlets which in his left hand forms an EDEN Blade to impale Suyou.

Ray swirls around with Suyou in tow, tossing her across the area and onto the hood of a police car that arrives, her wounds heal and she outright ignores the normal humans around them which have them at gunpoint.

Ray flickers only to slice off the hands of the policemen present at a superhuman pace, disarming them without killing them before turning to parry one of Suyou's Nanite Blade strikes as the fight heats up.

* * *

><p>Ray's entire body suddenly cackles with red electricity as he notices the policemen suddenly disappear and he can feel a presence approaching at high speed, another Non-Biological. Ray suddenly dashes back to avoid a knife strike from none other than Asakura Ryoko and he quickly ducks and leg sweeps at Nagato Yuki who is also now present.<p>

Ray withdraws slightly and says "Why are you aggressing against me? Doesn't your Integrated Data Thought Entity stand to benefit more from my assistance?"

Yuki replies "Communication is now possible with the Canopy Dominion who have reidentified themselves as the Angels. We have more in common regarding our direction towards Earth than previously assumed, it is in our best interests for the interface Konou Suyou to remain physically functional compared to if we allowed you to destroy the physical terminal."

Ray sighs and replies "In short, you stand to benefit more if Suyou is permitted to live, I hope you're making the correct choice here, I'll cease my aggression against her if you ensure Suzumiya Haruhi's safety."

Nagato replies "My responses are currently restricted at the moment and I am being ordered to not interfere with terrestrial affairs at the moment. We will neither directly assist nor directly oppose Suzumiya Haruhi and those who surround her, instead we will observe and identify the best possible course of action. But the Integrated Data Thought Entity also states that if you make any attempt to notify Kyon of my current restrictions that are being imposed then Suzumiya Haruhi will be dealt with more directly."

Ray's eyes shift color to purple as he looks in the direction of the two, charging a purple electrical current through the crimson red blade in his hand while saying "And I assume both you and Asakura oppose this decision?" Nagato replies "Our actions are restricted, if we do not follow orders our physical terminals will be permanently deleted."

Ray sighs and flickers behind them, only to be caught by Asakura's knife which is deflected by Ray's hidden blade, his right hand swipes the air above both Nagato and Asakura's heads, they suddenly dash backwards away from Ray, Asakura with a confused look on her face and Nagato lowering her hands and ceasing hostilities.

Nagato replies "You severed our connection to the Integrated Data Thought Entity in a way that cannot be repaired..." Ray sighs and sheathes his blade, saying "I'm asking you once and only once, assist me in keeping Haruhi safe, I've shown you the future, you of all people should have processed that information more accurately than the others, if Haruhi dies, so too does the universe and there is nothing your IDTE can do to stop it alone."

Ryoko chuckles and says "I'm free to do as I please right?". Ray's face gets serious and he replies "Keep in mind that you're completely severed, I'm sure there are no backups in the IDTE of your data, if you're so interested in observing death I can arrange that." as he says this Ray puts his finger on the trigger of the HF Murasama's sheath, staring in Ryoko's direction as if about to truly kill her, she replies calmly, saying "With your presence I'm sure there will be plenty of reactions to observe, I have no need to kill Kyon to provoke a reaction from Suzumiya-san, I'm sure you can cause such reactions with words alone."

Ray shifts his eyes to Suyou's direction, she has been remaining still for a while but he can tell she's restored her Nanite Shield. Suyou then says "There is still a chance for you two to remain non-hostile, continue your orders regardless of the severed link."

Ryoko grins and says "I never really did agree with the majority." while throwing several data spikes in Suyou's direction who again manages to escape the data jurisdiction zone which then collapses, the police confused at their sudden appearance around to which Ryoko simply kills them with data spikes rising out of the ground while saying "No witnesses, I guess I'll be transferring back to North High."

Ray then says "There was another way to silence them without taking their lives, the same artifact that was used to show Nagato the future I came from."  
>Ryoko replies "Then you should have used it before I acted, my method was faster and more permanent."<p>

Ray flickers and impales Ryoko from behind with a Nanite Blade before pulling his blade out, her injury healing, but her body motionless as Ray says "I've injected a large amount of nanomachines in your body, at any time I can restrict your movements, I'll need to augment the two of you later however as your capabilities are extremely limited when separated from the IDTE, it shouldn't be that hard considering the kind of tech I've had to reverse engineer in the future."

* * *

><p>1 day later, Nagato's Apartment<p>

* * *

><p>The SOS-dan remained present, including both the elder Asahina and younger Asahina, but not Haruhi. The thing that was un-nerving Koizumi however was Sasaki's presence.<p>

Ray sighed and said "We have a problem, it's obviously no longer safe for Sasaki to attend her old school or even remain at her house, I've already talked to her parents and she will be staying here, the situation is getting bad and the Data Overmind as you call it is now our enemy, I've permanently severed Nagato and Asakura Ryoko from it and therefore we can trust them."

Kyon spoke up, saying "I'm definitely trusting of Nagato but Asakura Ryoko is a completely different story, She's tried to kill me before and won't hesitate at the first opportunity!" Ray sighed and said "I've implanted a large amount of nanomachines in her to restrict her actions, and being severed from the Integrated Data Thought Entity means she lacks the support needed to remove or hack the nanomachines and even then it would be a difficult task, they will automatically restrict her actions if they are hostile towards you, Suzumiya or the SOS-dan but also at the same time I can physically control her completely if necessary, as if she were a puppet. I'm sure her return will cause Haruhi to get a little suspicious but it won't last that long or be a real issue, Koizumi covered up an incident I'd rather not explain at the moment so we shouldn't worry about that. I've already augmented the two so they'll be able to use abilities slightly different but on par with what they were able to do prior, and without a connection to the IDTE they are no longer bound to it's restrictions."

Kyon then says "If the...IDTE did anything too far then I'-" Ray interrupts him saying "The IDTE threatened to kill Haruhi before you could use your trump card, it's hostile now and I'll make sure it remains out of play, for now we need more allies and I know the perfect solution."

Koizumi then says "I've already spoken with Ray on the subject and have arranged a meeting with several important individuals who have access to equipment we will need, but it will come at a significant cost."

The Elder Asahina then says "We can only trust them so far, their interests are selfish and we can't put too much trust in them, but we can put trust in their project that was designed exactly for a hostile encounter with extraterrestrials." Kyon then says "And who are they?"

Ray's face becomes serious as he takes a breath before saying "The Council of Nations is what they are called, they are made of up representatives of the world's key economic, technological and military powers including Russia, China and the United States. With them on our side we effectively have all of Earth on our side, the project they've established will be activated to deal with this situation we have here. It is called the XCOM Project and they have access to facilities even Koizumi's Organization does not have. They are the perfect counterbalance to SEELE and the IDTE."

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

* * *

><p>Afterword : Well that's it for this chapter, I'll be taking a short break from new chapters for a while as I've just got a new game and intend to play through it.<p>

There are many counterbalances to the IDTE other than Ray or Haruhi and XCOM is only one of them.

Time to explain a few things but first a warning.

I'm tired of having to place a spoiler warning on all my afterwords so I'm making this the last. ALL of the following afterwords have a chance of containing a spoiler for Starcraft II (a really high chance). It goes without saying there are spoilers for the Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi regarding the manga, now onto the afterword.

* * *

><p>This battle with DuranNarud will prevent him from directly acting further, he's taken such a big injury that he won't be able to fight alone effectively anymore, which is evidenced in Heart of the Swarm where the only way he was able to injure Kerrigan was with psychological warfare (using Raynor's form and her uninfested form to cause her to hesitate in her attacks.)

Nagato and Ryoko will no longer be using their usual abilities such as making a durable Data Restriction Space or using Data Spikes and the like, Ray has augmented them with various nanotech abilities similar to his own (though his psionic attributes will remain out of their reach)

Ray's HF Murasama Blade is an exact replica of Jetstream Sam's HF Murasama from Metal Gear Rising:Revengeance and acts exactly like such though he can augment it's performance further because of his psionic abilities and his otherwise superhuman abilities and nanotech gives him even more of an advantaged compared to a military cyborg from MGR, even compared to Raiden.

Also I will clarify a few things such as acronyms and the like.

I don't know what TFEI means as I've yet to see Koizumi explain what that Acronym represents though I know they use it when referring to people like Nagato and Suyou. IDTE is Integrated Data Thought Entity, the long version of "Data Overmind" which I believe is either an inaccurate translation or a simplification for the English translations.

SEELE is the organization that funds NERV in the NGE Series (Better known simply as Evangelion). Their interests in Haruhi and Sasaki are the same as my previous fanfic Return of the Gods (Using her power to further their plans for a third impact.)

If you are a fan of NGE then you should know what I mean when the Canopy Dominion clarified that they are called the Angels, they are the ones who will cause the Second Impact, Humanoid Interfaces were made for infiltration actions only and they have used a humanoid angel before in the later parts of the series.

I plan on intertwining the following series' into this fanfiction. I wont tell you exactly how because that would be a spoiler but I'm telling you this so you have a chance to look up the lore on those series' if you don't already know them.

Some obviously I've already shown but I'll say it again.

NGE (Evangelion)

InFamous

and XCOM:Enemy Within

* * *

><p>till next time...<p> 


	8. VII

"There are two possibilities. Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."

* * *

><p>Chapter VII: Last Sunset<p>

* * *

><p>Unknown Location, The Following week..<p>

* * *

><p>The long hallway of unearthly design didn't seem to bother Ray as he walked forward to a rather thin man facing away from him. Ray grabbed the grip of his blade and said "I was expecting something higher up than you..."<p>

The man replied in English "One such as yourself should know you need not directly speak to them to converse with them. Our minds are all linked, state your intent, proposal and we will consider it."

Ray sighed and replied "I'm sure you are aware of both the Non-Biologicals present on Earth and of the coming darkness you intend to prevent. The one who would assist you is an agent of the darkness as I've already proven."

The man replied "Had you not exposed him we would not have even considered this meeting. Since then we are now more cautious in who we trust. If not EXALT then why should we trust even you. Your allies have less equipment and others would fight against all odds. Do not mince words with us, explain your plan."

Ray responded flatly, saying "I will tell you which targets to hit and how, what the nations of this time consider classified information is historical information available to children where I came from. The Japanese Islands will not be a valid target for you or the situation will suddenly reverse on you. XCOM will oppose you and that is exactly what I want to happen. A conflict between XCOM and the Ethereal ones will be an incident the IDTE cannot ignore and it will divert attention to the conflict. I'm sure it will put together the puzzle and assume I instigated it but we're already on hostile terms. My goal is simply the survival of a certain human and the destruction of the coming darkness. There is a long road to accomplishing this but it starts with provoking what would be known as the Great Invasion of 2015 and making it happen two years early. My intent is simple, I intend for the human race to survive the coming darkness and if that isn't possible then destroy the darkness afterwards and plant the seed for humanity's revival as a species the same way you have been augmenting other races with the gift to combat the coming end of all things."

The thin man turned around to face Ray, wearing sunglasses and having a rather anorexic appearance in addition to a greenish tint at the base of his lower-neck. He seemed to do nothing for a moment before replying "Very well, we will agree to your plan as long as it shows chance of success."

Ray grins at hearing this and activates a holographic data storage device.

* * *

><p>The following day - Tokyo, Japan.<p>

* * *

><p>Ray waited at the top of a skyscraper as a man approached him, dressed in a grey robe with some kind of device on his right arm, a kind of gauntlet which is conducting electricity. Ray is the first to speak, saying "Here we stand, two men of the future, I take it you've read my proposal Kessler?"<p>

Kessler replied "Yes, I agree to it. I hope you know what you are doing however, the world won't be approving of this sudden revelation nor will they be open to coexistence between Humans and Conduits."

Ray sighed and replied "I know what I'm doing. Sooner or later the truth will come out and I intend for it to be sooner rather than later. The improved schematics regarding the RFI will be sent directly to Wolfe by the usual method I suppose."

Kessler nodded and looked up, saying "Like you, I no longer belong, I sometimes wonder if it will work out. Will he accept the responsibility that will be placed on him or will he make the mistakes I did."

Ray replied "Cole will see the light, I'm sure of it. I'm just going to make sure when he does, he survives..."

* * *

><p>1010120012, later that night<p>

* * *

><p>Ray's "Sick Days" were increasing, no doubt making allies. Kyon couldn't stop thinking about what the elder Asahina's actions either. She suddenly shows up and says they will be making all kinds of meetings, though save for Koizumi the rest of the SOS-dan hasn't been involved in any level that he could notice. With the next Tanabata Festival approaching Ray said he would be absent that day, some excuse about a religious retreat, more likely meeting with some clandestine organization or the like. Though despite the hostility that is being mentioned the days have gone by uneventful. Something that makes Kyon even more uneasy as it isn't the first time he's felt a calm before a storm...<p>

* * *

><p>1010120120120, the following morning<p>

* * *

><p>Tanabata was coming up, Ray knew it was only a matter of time before his plan kicked in. On Tanabata he would pretend to be on a religious retreat. Instead he would be making a pre-emptive attack on SEELE and thanks to his allies both near and far, he couldn't fail. But he wasn't going to let himself become overconfident, his enemy is not just SEELE but also the IDTE who whether they realize it or not are playing straight into Amon's hands.<p>

The sick days got him this far, using his nanomachines to mimic symptoms and thus fooling both the school and more importantly, Haruhi. But being sick for too long would cause Haruhi to become suspicious and possibly overconcerned which has a chance to make Ray truly sick given her power, though sooner or later that won't be an issue. Sasaki is safe, under the protection of Koizumi's faction who Ray has managed to successfully scare into helping her. The threat of allowing threats beyond their control go unchecked and even managing to convince the Tsuruya family to withdraw all their support if anything happens to her by any side, intentional or not. And they are the only thing keeping them afloat in the current situation. The younger Mikuru seems to be wary of him and the elder Mikuru is more willing to help but at the same time more of a possible danger considering she may grow desperate to repair her timeline, not knowing that it is a doomed one.

But for now Ray must set these things aside and approach an opportunity he cannot ignore.

* * *

><p>Osaka, Japan. 2014 - Abstergo Industries, Japanese Division<p>

* * *

><p>Ray stood on the top of a nearby skyscraper dressed in a white armored suit with his HF Murasama blade resting on his left hip, gauntlets of EDEN recolored to blend with the rest of his armor.<p>

Quickly Ray jumped down from 200 feet and began to run down the windows of his building before suddenly launching himself towards the nearby 15 story building, breaking the glass of the windows behind him and only seconds after smashing into the glass of the other building, pulling the trigger on the scabbard which sends a gunshot, rapidly drawing the Murasama which Ray grabs effortlessly to slice an Abstergo guard in half who was unaware of what killed him because of the sheer speed of the attack and entry.

The building was aware of his presence because of the sound made by the gun-draw as Ray called it. His face partially covered by a metallic mask and helmet as more guards stormed through the nearby doors and fired pistol rounds which Ray didn't even bother for his Nanite shield to act, his new armor already impervious to the 9mm rounds used by Abstergo.

Ray dashed at inhuman pace through the building, slicing through guards as he made his way down in his otherwise unexpected and unprovoked assault on Abstergo's Japanese Division. Slashing through the metal barricades which attempted to lockdown the building, Ray saw no effort in this mission as he reached the computer room and began to hack into the server simply by stabbing the keyboard with his Nanite Blade which formed seemingly out of air, the nanites doing the work for him.

Ray succeeded in transferring something into the building's server and he uploaded a virus which severed all internet connection to all computers in the building and made his way to the 5th floor via the stairs, again simply cutting through any barricade or guards that dared get in his way.

He then reached the basement and saw a larger network of computers in front of him, a holographic face appeared before him, projected from the main sever. One of a woman's as it spoke in English, saying "I do give you some credit for pulling me from the networks of the world and placing me here, but it will do you no good."

Ray chuckled and caused his Gauntlets to glow gold which contrasted to the white armor he had on, which caused what could be seen as shock in the face as Ray said "Nice try Juno but I've got everything I need to kill you instead of trapping you, I'm not like the Assassins or Templars or even EDEN for that matter. I have no regrets about taking another's life when it is necessary. And you've been alive too long, causing trouble from the machines you left around. With you gone your artifacts will no longer be a potential threat to me and I will be able to use them freely. The Gauntlet is a military tool, not something a civilian like you had access to."

Ray drew his Murasama and formed a cloud of nanites around it as he impaled the projector despite Juno's pleading, sending the holographic face into a flickering pattern before it shuts down, the servers begin to overheat as Ray slices through the ceiling to get to the first floor and leave the building as it collapses in on itself, the nanomachines Ray having infused with the structure eroding it's support beams in a way that it would collapse in a contained and down motion to prevent collateral damage.

Ray quickly dashed past emergency responders of which some took notice and even fired at him to no effect as he ran up the wall of a nearby building before using his Kamui to depart the scene, it had served him well, enabling him to meet with several potential allies without leaving a trail behind. Even Koizumi couldn't keep up with him and there were many meetings he wasn't privy to such as the Ethereal ones and Kessler.

* * *

><p>Tanabata, Nishinomiya, Japan - 2014<p>

* * *

><p>This was the day Ray had been planning for some time, after today Ray hoped only the IDTE would remain as a threat and attention could be focused elsewhere. The rest aren't aware of what's going to happen other than something to attract SEELE's attention. That is this, without NERV to fight for them SEELE will be forced to act in the shadows and with XCOM to be activated soon, they won't get much done.<p>

Ray was in the armor he had used in his raid on Abstergo, with Juno dead he can use the Apple of EDEN without reserve.

Ray looks at the night sky as he sees a plume of fire descend into the outskirts of the secret facility only few know the existence of. NERV HQ, a large purple tinted Pyramid of modern design.

* * *

><p>010101012201<p>

* * *

><p>It seems Ray had intended her to do his dirty work. Ryoko thought this to herself as she cut down another guard in the facility and hacked, rather easily, into their security system, disabling their early warning systems as a nearby blast door suddenly blew open with a large melted hole, in walking a mechanical construct Ray had called a Sectopod which proceeded to launch a barrage of rockets in the direction of a security team that came out of another room only to meet their end, Ryoko shrugged as she took advantage of her new abilities, she considered losing full data-manipulation an upgrade to the new powers she wielded as she charged her knife with electricity and sent several bolts of lightning at another security team. They were armed with the best humanity had to offer and still it was not enough. And how could it be? The weapons given to her were literally 500 years more advanced than anything they had seen, being technology of the future.<p>

Ray swirled into sight and before Ryoko could say anything he cut down several stealthed guards Ryoko had not noticed which Ray replied to saying "I gave you ocular implants for a reason, use them. You can't just simply sense objects anymore, you need to get used to your newfound individuality or you'll end up dead sooner or later." with these words said Ray drew a pistol and gunned down three more guards who entered as several large creatures Ray had identified as Mutons charged in firing rifles which discharged a green tinted ionized plasma at their targets. Ryoko had been aware of several forms of life though she had never seen or been aware of anything to this scale, they either had to be nomadic or also from the future.

* * *

><p>1010120122<p>

* * *

><p>Going deeper into the facility after only three hours of starting the attack Ray's sensor began to beep, XCOM was responding to the situation and he turned his head towards Ryoko and said "They're punctual I'll give them that."<p>

* * *

><p>Surface, NERV HQ Exterior, two minutes later<p>

* * *

><p>A large craft known as "The Skyranger" landed and dropped off four heavily armed soldiers who quickly took positions just outside the war zone that was apparent. Destroyed cars, scars of plasma burns and corpses, some torn apart and apparently something having burst out of rather than being eviscerated from the exterior.<p>

One of the men, highest in rank of the squad going by Delta-1 said "This is Delta-One to central, it's a war zone over here, no X-RAYs in sight yet but definitely they have to be here somewhere, I can still hear gunfire in the distance. Orders?"

On the Radio someone replied, saying "This is Central, receiving you loud and clear, orders are to investigate the facility, eliminate all encountered X-RAYs and if possible find out what this place is to begin with." Delta One replies "Roger that Central, Strike One initiating Operation Welcome Committee."

* * *

><p>With hand gestures Delta One led the squad through cover of the debris and ruins before taking plasma fire from several small creatures which show up in their HUD as Sectoids. After a concentrated barrage the three sectoids go down easily with Delta Squad unscathed in the short firefight. They proceed into the structure after marking several artifacts such as self-destructed weapons and the corpses with encrypted GPS markers so they can keep track of it once the site is considered clear.<p>

Deeper inside the facility Delta One says "Delta Three, you're from this country right? We'll need you to translate for us if we encounter any survivors and also to read the written language in this facility which we'll assume is Japanese." The woman nods her head and says "There's a computer terminal up ahead, I'll be able to access it easily considering the damage an-" Delta 3 is interrupted by plasma fire which kills their fourth squad member, Delta Four as Delta 1 through 3 take cover.

Delta One shouts "Suppressive Fire!" as he opens fire blindly in the direction of the plasma fire, seeing a pair of Thin Men taking cover as his squad advances to closer cover, firing controlled bursts to kill the humanoid creatures which explode in a cloud of toxic gasses.

* * *

><p>After setting a marker on Delta Four's body and taking his equipment with them the squad follows Delta-3 deeper into the facility and quickly take cover as they spot a muton who also takes cover rapidly and fires a couple of plasma shots at them which likewise miss.<p>

Delta Two lays suppressive fire with his LMG (Light Machinegun) as his squadmates move through cover. Running out of ammo Delta-2 gets back into cover and reloads as he hears gunfire from his squadmates and a large roar from what he assumes is the alien that shows up in his HUD as a Muton.

Delta-1 delivers the final blow with a 5-round burst to the Alien's head from his Assault Rifle, running out of ammo and reloading immediately after realizing this. He signals Delta-3 and 2 and they regroup near a stairway to check their equipment, ammo and make sure none of them are injured.

* * *

><p>010101212120<p>

* * *

><p>Ray cuts down two more SEELE guards with his HF Murasama and Ryoko also kills another two from behind, the two acting like a well coordinated special forces duo when it came to fighting on the same side, no words said between them, merely action alone.<p>

Ryoko quickly ducked to evade a data spike which Ray deflected by activating his Nanite-shield at the last minute to reveal a seemingly 17 year old Japanese man who didn't even bother to talk, he simply formed two Nanite blades and dashed towards Ray who parried a three-strike attack from the TFEI as Ryoko flanked behind and sent her Nanite-reinforced Swiss Army Knife into the hostile TFEI's back as Ray ducked and sliced off it's legs which instead of causing blood, caused a white energy to spill out which caught Ray's attention as he said "He's not meant for normal infiltration, it seems he's been retuned specifically to fight us." Ryoko replied "I can't get a read on him because I'm no longer linked but from what your augments show he is incapable of verbal communication or any form of social dialogue."

Ray sighs as he parries another attack and says "That's basically exactly what I just said, we better kill him quickly before XCOM catches up to us, they aren't supposed to know we're here, to them this is strictly an extraterrestrial incursion, not some strange conspiracy from their own ranks."

Ryoko nods and manipulates nanomachines into three metal spikes which suddenly impale the combat-TFEI from three separate angles as Ray begins to slash at him at an extremely fast pace. To Ray's perception, everything except himself is in slow motion, his eagle vision making a slight blue blur though not as much as it normally does.

After slicing the TFEI into over 1000 pieces it explodes into a stream of data which causes Ray to charge his Murasama with purple electricity and slash just above the data explosion, severing the terminal from the IDTE permanently and because it is severed from the IDTE, the blow is fatal.

* * *

><p>Ray and Ryoko come before a blast door and Ray places a small device on it as Ryoko backs up. Ray gets out of the way just as a Sectopod, the same one that accompanied them at the Facility Exterior smelts through the door with four shots from it's Energy Cannon revealing a large room housing several stasis chambers containing what Ray assumes are clones of the same person as he walks down the isle to an empty stasis chamber, seemed to be fitted for someone with cybernetics rather than a clone or normal human.<p>

Ray's face goes hateful and he sheath's his Murasama only to gun-draw it, slashing straight through the Stasis-Chamber and thus destroying it as red electricity crackles through the blade as he wipes off the green fluid stored in the chamber and sheaths his blade. Ryoko then says "Are you done?"

Ray grins, relaxes and says "Yes, set the plasma bomb."

* * *

><p>1010121212, 15 minutes later<p>

* * *

><p>Delta-1 opens a door only for a blast of red energy to completely incinerate Delta-2 as the survivors take cover, a Sectopod standing in their way next to a green canister which is beginning to glow and hum brighter and louder with each passing second.<p>

Delta-3 fires an electromagnetic bullet at the Sectopod which disables its primary cannon only for a secondary turret to rise out of its back and shoot her in the heart, killing her. Delta One loses all self-control and fires off his entire 30 round clip into the Sectopod which has no effect as the bullets merely bounce off it's armor.

Just as his rifle runs out of ammo the bomb detonates, igniting a massive green explosion across NERV HQ, destroying the surrounding landscape, the Skyranger barely out of range of the detonation as the pilot loses concentration at the sight of the blast, the radio goes static for a minute before it shoots back to life with Central shouting "Strike-One respond damnit! What's going on over there, we have a large explosion in the AO!"

The pilot picks up the radio and says "This is Strike-One, I have no contact with Delta Squad, I'm confirming a large explosion in the Area of Operations and life signs on the monitor are nil. Mission Failed, I repeat, Mission Failure."

* * *

><p>XCOM HQ, Colorado, United States of America<p>

* * *

><p>Central Operations Bradford, simply known as Central slams his fist against the wall as he says over the radio "Roger that Strike-One, return to base, Delta-Squad is considered K.I.A."<p>

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p>

* * *

><p>Afterword:<p>

HUD is an acronym for Heads Up Display

KIA is an acronym for Killed in Action

AO is an acronym for Area of Operations.

Not much to say otherwise, other than XCOM's first response being a failure due to Ray's actions. NERV is no longer an issue though their puppeteer SEELE still is.

To clear some things up just incase you haven't caught on, The cutaways before the main part of the chapter build up the fact that Ray isn't really a legitimate ally of Koizumi's Organization, he's just using them to accomplish his goal of preventing the end of all things. He's playing both sides of the invasion as well. Supporting XCOM with advanced weapons and tactics to fight the IDTE and at the same time giving away what would be classified information (which to a man of the future is fifth grade history) such as weapons capabilities, troop deployment and research projects of the Council Nations to the Ethereal Ones (The Aliens in XCOM:Enemy Unknown) and has become their terrestrial ally instead of EXALT. One could assume he intends to make the conflict either longer or shorter than it should have been.

Till next time...


	9. VIII

"One day you will wake up and realize the world is crazier than you are."

* * *

><p>Chapter VIII : Painful Summer Part 1<p>

* * *

><p>SOS-dan clubroom, 6:22 pm, 2014 AD, 3 days prior to summer<p>

* * *

><p>Ray simply sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, wearing a woodland camo hat which was tilted down to cover his eyes. Still in his school uniform however and the only others present are Suzumiya Haruhi in her chair, meddling around with the computer, Kyon and Koizumi playing a game of checkers, Nagato reading a book and Mikuru preparing tea. It would otherwise seem to be an uneventful day other then the fact Asakura Ryoko having transferred back and Sasaki having transferred in.<p>

Ray placed his hat on the table as Mikuru set tea for everyone. "I could get used to days like this, ignorance would be bliss." were the words going through his head as he sipped the tea, letting his guard down only slightly as if nothing were wrong. But he couldn't let it down all the way, not because of what he knew but because of what he's lived through. He may have the physical form of a 16 year old male but he has lived and endured 40 plus years, most of it as a United Earth Directorate Marine. Hell was a word he used to describe his everyday life. He took a glance around the room before looking at Haruhi who was so focused on the computer planning a summer vacation for the SOS-dan that she was oblivious to Ray's glance which seemed slightly depressed as if he wanted to sigh openly. "Minus Haruhi's usual antics and the transfers the month had been uneventful, neither SEELE, Kyoko's Organization, the IDTE or the Angels have made a move. Most likely because XCOM and the Ethereal Ones are locked in a secret war that the entire world yet alone the city of Nishinomiya is unaware of. I know sooner or later they will send assets to the city to make a play but right now I can say this is a rather long calm before the storm." are the thoughts Ray loses himself in before being snapped back into the real world.

"Is there something you need?" are the words spoken by Haruhi who took notice to Ray's absent-minded stare. Ray replied "Just bored, I hope this vacation will be good. Actually strike that, I'm sure it will be if you're putting so much effort into it." Haruhi replied "Don't you worry, the SOS-dan isn't like all those other boring and idiotic clubs prancing around, we'll have a great time and we might even find something supernatural or the like while we're at it."

Ray closed his eyes, shook his head slightly and said "Sooner or later I'm sure something abnormal will happen but I wouldn't get my hopes up for anything too soon." Haruhi sighed and said "That's because you've only been here just over a month, we've had some interesting experiences that turned out to be just normal things but at the same time they weren't too normal."

* * *

><p>As time passed Ray nodded off with his hat back on head, he would rather nothing abnormal happen too soon, though at the same time if it were simply only Suzumiya's subconscious actions then he wouldn't mind it. After a while Ray woke to a startle, Haruhi was shaking Ray slightly saying "Wake up, it's getting dark. Unless you plan on sleeping here we should head out."<p>

Ray sighed and fixed his hat's position and got up after placing his glasses on. They were really only for show as his eyesight was beyond perfect because of his cybernetics and nano-augmentations and that was excluding Eagle Vision.

* * *

><p>8:12pm, Nishinomiya<p>

* * *

><p>As Ray and Haruhi left the clubroom she suddenly stopped and said "You know, you still haven't brought anything interesting yet." Ray sighed and said "We've had this conversation before, just be patient I have something in mind I just have to make some preparations. It has to be shipped in from the States as I never brought it with me when I came to study abroad."<p>

Haruhi sighed and said "It shouldn't take so long for them to transport something across the ocean, the gaming industry ships millions of products to the US every week, how long can one item take to be shipped here?" Ray replied "Well I do have some other interesting things I could show you, not as much as what seems to be taking forever to get here but regardless very interesting as well, but I'd rather wait until that festival comes, best place to show it."

They continued to walk until they were just outside the school gate in which Haruhi stopped and said "That thing you were talking about in the hallway, I don't suppose you could just show it to me anyway?" Ray scratches the back of his neck as he says "I guess, I'd have to fetch it from my house though."

Haruhi pulls out a pen and small notepad from her pocket and writes down her address before tearing off the page and handing it to Ray saying "This is where I live, go fetch it and show it to me there, plus I wouldn't mind a visitor, I pretty much stick to the same routine when I get back from school, wouldn't hurt to break from it."

Ray took the piece of paper and said "I guess, if you're so curious. But this isn't just a one way line. I show you this and you'll have to wait longer for the other thing, meaning I'll hold onto it when it gets here for a while before showing you." Haruhi chuckled slightly and said "Fine, just be there before 10 or I'll be asleep." Ray nodded and the two went in separate directions.

* * *

><p>Ray's apartment, 8:47pm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray put on one of his hidden blades and used it to unlock a box, the blade changing shape by simple mechanics to match the lock. After opening the box Ray pulled out an old photo, taken six years in the future. In the middle was him, to his right was an older Haruhi and his left the elder Mikuru, all three in combat fatigues with the background a ruined city. Ray caressed the photo slightly with his thumb before setting it back in the box and grabbing his Murasama blade, the blade still crimson red as he had used his nanotech to modify it into a High Frequency Blade, technology not yet even theorized.<p>

Ray checked his digital clock on his table which showed the time was 8:49pm, he said to himself out loud "Never again, I won't let those I care about die. I won't let anyone harm my friends, not SEELE, not the IDTE, not Amon and certainly not the Angels."

"Oh, I didn't know you were the sentimental type." a voice said from behind.

Ray immediately drew the blade and held it to Asakura Ryoko's throat for a moment before sheathing it back in the scabbard. Ray said "What do you want?"  
>Ryoko replied "Oh nothing special, I just wanted to know who I'm going to be working with, I didn't expect you to be back so quickly. When was that photo taken? I'm 100% sure that's you in the middle with Suzumiya-san and Asahina-san." Ray replied "From the first time I came back, the 22nd of March, 2020 AD. Taken in this very city during the third world war."<p>

Ryoko smiled slightly and said "Humans seem to always be at eachother's throats throughout history, what started that war?"

Ray replied "A mission gone wrong provoked an open conflict between NATO and it's eastern equivalent called ASDC, of which Japan and South Korea were the only Asian countries not part of the ASDC. I was part of an organization called the Assassin Brotherhood and Abstergo Industries provoked the third world war to take power over what remained, at the time Koizumi's Organization made a PMC Front Company in order to assist NATO whilst Kyoko's organization acted in the shadows with the backing of SEELE and Abstergo. Four hours after this photo was taken Haruhi was killed by Suyou with a .50 Calibur slug. She died in my arms, I have no intention for that to be repeated, is your curiosity satisfied?"

Ryoko nodded and swirled out of sight in the same manner Ray uses to teleport.

* * *

><p>Suzumiya's House, 9:02pm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray rang the doorbell, his sword placed in a long rectangle black case, different from the other case. In this case only the sword was there in it's scabbard with the gundraw mechanism removed. A middle aged Japanese man, likely in his 40s answered the door saying "Ah you must be Raymond, Haruhi said you would be visiting, something about showing her something?"<p>

Ray nodded and said "My full name is Raymond Zenji, you must be Haruhi's father." The man nodded and said "Yes, my name is Suzumiya Hiruzen. Come on in, Haruhi is in the kitchen making dinner so feel free to join us."

* * *

><p>Kitchen, 9:12pm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray couldn't be more satisfied, no matter how great or renowned a chef the Supply Quartermaster Ray knew from his UED days when he held off the Tal'Darim off on Mars in his home timeline was, Haruhi was better.<p>

Ray had made proper introductions with her parents, Suzumiya Hiruzen and Suzumiya Ayame.

The dinner went uneventful save for small talk on things like how schoolwork was going, if Ray was impressed with how Japan is and other things. Haruhi's mother Ayame ate some rather heavily spiced sukiyaki compared to the other plates Haruhi made, had a good sense of humor too as every joke she told to lighten the mood sent the whole room laughing and Ray had not laughed honestly to a joke since his days in the UEDMC (United Earth Directorate Marine Corps).

* * *

><p>Living Room, 9:28pm<p>

* * *

><p>Haruhi who was seated next to Ray on a couch facing a TV said "So what did you bring that's so interesting?" Ray replied "Well like I said it's not too interesting compared to what's being shipped from the states but." Ray placed his black case on the table before continuing, saying "It's a real Murasama Blade, though It's been modified and recast several times throughout the years, believe it or not it was passed down throughout a friend of mine's family before he passed it over to me, he passed away from an incurable illness." as Ray finished he opened up the case and set a sword stand on the table and picked up the blade from the case and unsheathed it, showing the bright crimson red blade and black fiber-optic grip, there also seemed to be a small red trigger just below the hilt facing the same direction as the blade's edge which was seamless and undoubtedly sharper than any other blade.<p>

Haruhi's parents were in awe at the craftsmanship of the blade whilst Haruhi herself seemed only interested in the trigger and the fact the blade was un-naturally crimson red. Haruhi then asked "What's the trigger for?" Ray replied "It was a modification I placed on it myself, keeping the blade deadly and well maintained was an honored tradition in my friend's family, I kept that tradition by placing something I pieced together myself, I like to think of myself as an aspiring inventor."

With those words said Ray sat up, got slightly clear from the others and held the blade in a stance while gripping the trigger and holding it ripped as a red electrical current flowed through the blade, making it glow slightly. Ray said "It sends a high frequency electrical current through the blade causing it to ionize, heat up and vibrate at high speeds, it multiplies the strength of the blade itself thus making it more durable and sharper. I could cut through a 10 inch reinforced steel block in one strike with this." He releases the trigger which turns off the current as he sheaths it and places the sword on the stand.

Haruhi and her parents seemed impressed with both his invention and with the blade. Hiruzen broke the silence, saying "What was your friend's name?"

Ray replied "Samuel Rodrigues, he was born in Brazil and was the son of an owner of a dojo which practiced a variant of the Uradachi swordsmanship style." Ayame then said "Uradachi? Isn't that also known as The Murdering Sword?"

Ray nodded and said "Well yes it's also called that though Rodrigues Style Uradachi is slightly different in it's moves, more kicks and throws, sword butts and other things. The whole style is set to kill but that's only happened once where Sam's father was killed by one of his students. In the end justice was served though and Sam took reins of the dojo. I met him after this incident, I learned the style from him and mixed it with some other things I knew. I taught the results to Sam and he was impressed. I developed techniques for disarming an opponent and other non-lethal methods. I knew Sam for about two years before he passed away, to his eyes I was not just his student but also his best friend and since he died without children he decided to pass on the blade to me."

* * *

><p>Living Room, 9:31pm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray's story intrigued both Haruhi and her parents as they both complimented both the blade and that it seemed his friend was a good man and even expressed condolences over his passing, though Ray had lied partially, Sam wasn't killed by illness, he was killed while helping refugees escape ASDC death squads and if not for his cybernetics he would never have been able to accomplish it at all. Not one refugee died that day and they all viewed Sam as a hero, in the current timeline Sam is off the grid, dispensing "Justice." Those thoughts went through Ray's head for a while and if he can prevent WW3 without compromising Haruhi's safety he was sure he could be good friends with Sam like before.<p>

* * *

><p>Haruhi's parents decided to clean up and turn in to bed whilst Haruhi and Ray chatted about in the living room.<p>

Haruhi spoke first, saying "This was a very interesting night, I suppose whatever is coming from the US would be worth waiting for if you think it's more interesting than this." Ray replied "It is worth waiting for, trust me. It's going to be getting late soon and I imagine tomorrow will be a busy day since there is supposed to be this difficult test prior to summer vacati-".

The door slammed open as two men dashed in, one slamming a stun rod into Ray and the other pulling Haruhi by the hair whilst trying to drag her outside. The men wore no uniform but Ray tapped into Eagle Vision while on the floor and knew they were affiliated with Abstergo.

Ray quickly recovered, the first thug attempted to stun him again but Ray grabbed his hand and broke it whilst kicking him back and grabbing and unsheathing his sword and activating the HF setting as Haruhi's parents dashed into the room to see the attempted kidnapping take place.

Ray leg swept the first thug to the ground and dashed at the other thug who threw Haruhi into the wall and moved his shock baton in a parrying motion only for the Murasama to cut clean through it and drawing blood from the thug's opposing shoulder as the blade continued through without stopping, Ray aimed the blade in this manner so as to not kill the man.

Ray turned around quickly and used his blade to disarm the first thug who got up to charge with his baton, the motion of Ray's sword was mesmerizing to Haruhi and her parents as Ray proceeded to let his left hand grab the thug in the face and slam him into the ground, quick, firm and flawlessly executed as the blow knocked the first thug unconscious. The second thug pulled out a knife and was aiming to seize Haruhi as a human shield though Ray tapped into his abilities partially to make a slightly inhumanly fast dash and impaled the thug's shoulder and squeezed the HF Trigger again, sending an electric jolt through the blade and the thug, knocking him out as Ray withdrew the blade. By the time this fight ended only 34 seconds passed and Hiruzen had reached the phone to call the police. Ray reached into his pocket for a white cloth and cleaned the blood of his sword before sheathing it. Haruhi was petrified with a combination of shock and fear.

* * *

><p>One week later, Nagato's Apartment, 3:19pm<p>

* * *

><p>The incident was logged as a failed breaking and entering, Koizumi made sure the police didn't hold onto Ray's blade though Haruhi was oblivious to the fact Koizumi pulled strings to do that, she believes the police were sympathetic to the reason of self defense and despite several injuries on the thugs part nobody died.<p>

It took a full week to get over it but Haruhi did eventually get over it and during that week the amount of closed space being formed reached a new height that never occurred before. But now it was all back to normal, Haruhi regards the incident as evidence that crime might be rising in the neighborhood though doesn't expect something like this to happen again. For the most part the SOS-dan is here at Nagato's to discuss what they will be doing for summer.

* * *

><p>7:12pm, Nagato's Apartment<p>

* * *

><p>Ray was about to stay with the others to discuss the incident but Haruhi insisted on Ray walking her home.<p>

"She's still a little shaken up with what happened but at least it's not like it was at first, It can't be easy when you first wake up and realize the world is a darker place than you normally assume." are the words going through Ray's head.

* * *

><p>001212010212010<p>

* * *

><p>Ray left with Haruhi though the others stayed, Kyon broke the silence once Haruhi was out of earshot and said "Do we know who did this? Was it really just a random incident or are the others involved with this?"<p>

Koizumi replied "If so they've made a new ally, Abstergo Industries. There are conspiracies all over the place and I believe they are somehow connected Ezio, the man who we saw in the vision Ray showed us."

Mikuru then said "I'm aware of Abstergo Industries, like before my older counterpart said several things would be declassified and this information was just declassified right now. Abstergo Industries does things in the shadows such as blackmail, kidnapping, murder and financing terrorist and rebel groups all over the world as well as their official businesses such as their Entertainment division and their Security Contracting. It's possible if they know about Haruhi's power then they would be acting on their own with this."

* * *

><p>1012021201012, 7:48pm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray was walking alongside Haruhi to her house which was likely just a few more minutes away when Haruhi decided to speak, saying "Ray, your house is locked up right?" Ray replied "Yes I always lock up before I leave, why?"<p>

Haruhi paused for a bit before replying "I was just wondering if you would be ok with staying the night at my house, we have a guest room. Would you stay over for the night?"

Ray stared at Haruhi for a few seconds and realized what was going on. She no longer feels safe, she hasn't gotten over what happened, she just acts like she has in front of the others. But it seems she feels safe if Ray is present which would make sense after seeing Ray's swordsmanship skills with the added fact that though she doesn't know this, Ray has nothing to fear from baton wielding thugs or even gun wielding thugs if things went that far, though the latter would force Ray to reveal his capabilities to Haruhi, he got away with boosting his speed slightly but deflecting bullets with a sword, especially if their using automatic weapons would be a dead giveaway.

Ray decided to speak after a while, saying "Alright, I don't need to get anything and there's nothing I need to take care of at my house so I can spend the night over at your place." Haruhi nodded and replied "Thank you..."

* * *

><p>Haruhi's House, Guest Bedroom, 11:30pm<p>

* * *

><p>Ray laid on the bed and held up his arm to his own sight and turned off the holographic emitters, showing the Gauntlets of Eden and the fact that they are grafted in his arm, being his arms directly and not just simply attached. He moves his finger across the gauntlet, warm but metallic before reactivating the emitter and checking its feel again, warm and feeling like human skin. When he took the gauntlets from under Abstergo's nose he believed they would not trace it back to him. "Did they trace it back or did Kyoko strike a deal with them to come after Haruhi, now that I think about it they were concerned with kidnapping Haruhi and not me so it's likely the latter." are the words going through his head. He got out of bed and activated Eagle Vision and took it a step further, seeing through walls, scouting each room and the perimeter of the house, no intruders. Something caught his eye however and it was Haruhi, crying herself to sleep.<p>

Ray returned his sight to normal and got back into bed, saying to himself "I better not wake up inside closed space..."

* * *

><p>To be continued...<p> 


End file.
